Back Иванишвили, Биӡина Григори-иԥа Abkhazian بدزينا إفنشفلي Arabic بدزينا افنشفلى ARZ Bidzina İvanişvili Azerbaijani Бидзина Иванишвили Bulgarian Bídzina Ivaníxvili Catalan Bidzina Ivanišvili Czech Bidzina Ivanisjvili Danish Bidsina Iwanischwili German Μπιτζίνα Ιβανισβίλι Greek
Bidzina Ivanishvili | |
|---|---|
ბიძინა ივანიშვილი | |
.jpg) Ivanishvili in 2013 | |
| 10th Prime Minister of Georgia | |
| In office 25 October 2012 – 20 November 2013 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Vano Merabishvili |
| Succeeded by | Irakli Garibashvili |
| Chairman of Georgian Dream | |
| In office 12 April 2012 – 15 November 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Irakli Garibashvili |
| In office 26 April 2018 – 11 January 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Giorgi Kvirikashvili |
| Succeeded by | Irakli Kobakhidze |
| Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream | |
| Assumed office 30 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 February 1956 Chorvila, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Citizenship |
|
| Political party | Georgian Dream (2012–2013, 2018–2021, 2023–present) |
| Spouse |
Ekaterine Khvedelidze
(m. 1991) |
| Children | 4, including Bera |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards | Legion of Honour[1][2] |
| Net worth | US$7.27 billion (2024)[3] |
| Signature |  |
Bidzina Ivanishvili (Georgian: ბიძინა ივანიშვილი; born 18 February 1956), also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili,[a][4] is a Georgian politician and billionaire oligarch who is widely recognized as the de facto ruler of Georgia.[9][10] He has been sanctioned by the United States and several European Union countries for undermining Georgian democracy and advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.[11][12][13]
Ivanishvili is the richest man in Georgia; his wealth was estimated at $7.6 billion in 2024, a figure was equivalent to 24.8% of Georgia's 2023 GDP.[14][15] He made his wealth in Russia in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.[14] He initially sold computers in Russia before acquiring banking and metals assets for cheap when the Russian government privatized its Soviet-era state assets during Mikhail Gorbachev's and Boris Yeltsin's eras.[14] Ivanishvili left Russia when Vladimir Putin came to power, in 2002, and moved to France, being a French citizen.[16]
Ivanishvili entered Georgian politics in 2012, when he founded the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party and secured victory in the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election against the United National Movement party of incumbent President Mikheil Saakashvili. After serving as Prime Minister of Georgia, he left all political positions in 2013 but remains to be commonly viewed as the éminence grise of Georgian politics. After returning to politics in 2018 in a position of the chairman of the ruling party, he again formally left in 2021, but staged a comeback in late 2023 as the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream and regained his de facto status as leader of Georgia.[10]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Legion2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Agenda2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "bloomberg profile: Bidzina Ivanishvili". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Official Biography of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, Government of Georgia (retrieved on 8 April 2013)
- ^ "Oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili - the real ruler of Georgia and the architect of Georgia's pro-Russian shift". Transparency International. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "The oligarch behind Georgia's pivot to Russia". DW. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Sauer, Pjotr; Walker, Shaun (16 May 2024). "Bidzina Ivanishvili: Georgia's billionaire 'puppet master' betting the house on Moscow". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Georgia's Lazarus Bidzina Ivanishvili's latest political comeback and the law of diminishing returns". Meduza. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ [5][6][7][8]
- ^ a b Stephen F. Jones (3 December 2024). "Are we witnessing revolution in Georgia? Pro-EU protests sweep the nation". openDemocracy. Wikidata Q131620435. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024.
- ^ Antony, Blinken (27 December 2024). "Sanctioning Georgian Dream Founder Bidzina Ivanishvili". United States Department of State. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ Psaledakis, Daphne; Light, Felix (27 December 2024). "US imposes sanctions on Georgian ex-prime minister, billionaire Ivanishvili". Reuters. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia Sanction Ivanishvili, MIA Officials, Civil Georgia: 2 December 2024.
- ^ a b c Sauer, Pjotr; Walker, Shaun (16 May 2024). "Bidzina Ivanishvili: Georgia's billionaire 'puppet master' betting the house on Moscow". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ^ "The man who bought a country". POLITICO. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ "He Owns The Place". The Forbes. 16 July 2012.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).