Georgia elections 2012 saakashvili biography

Mikheil Saakashvili is seen here in Tbilisi in September Despite military humiliation and sharp criticism of his human rights record, Mikheil Saakashvili has managed to maintain a strong grip on Georgia.

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By law, he must stand down as president in , having completed two consecutive terms as president of the former Soviet republic. However, his years in office have marked Georgia for years to come. To some he will always be the hero of the Rose Revolution , external , sweeping away Soviet-style corruption and courting the West. To others, he is the leader who rashly sparked a dangerous war with Russia.

Mr Saakashvili's background has all the ingredients of a successful career on the international stage and helps explain his appeal to Brussels and Washington. Born in in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to a doctor father and a historian mother, he did his Soviet military service in Ukraine, where he went on to study international law.

Receiving a fellowship from the US state department, he attended Columbia University law school and was hired by a New York-based law firm. He and his Dutch wife, human rights specialist Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs, have two sons. Returning to Georgia from his career abroad, he was appointed justice minister in October by the then President, Eduard Shevardnadze , external.

But he resigned the following year, saying he considered it immoral to remain a member of a government plagued by corruption and cronyism.