User:AlexandreAssatiani/Salome Zurabishvili

Family Background
The Zourabichvili family is a branch of the old Georgian Zurabishvili dynasty that immigrated to France following the Red Army's invasion of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1921. The transliteration of Zurabishvili in French is, indeed, spelled Zourabichvili and the distinction now exists between the branch that went to France and those that remained in Georgia. Levan Zourabichvili (1906-1975) was only 14 years old when Soviet Russia, under the orders of Joseph Stalin, invaded the independent Georgian republic and annexed it into the Soviet empire, while his father, Ivane (1872-1940) was a deputy in the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic and the president of the Georgian railroad system. The Zurabishvili family, meanwhile, has noble origins, being cited in the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk between the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti and the Russian empire as one of the tavadi (თავადი, equivalent to the European title of "duke") families of Kartli, ranking 36th in the order of importance among noble families.

Levan Zourabichvili, an engineer, was actively involved with the Georgian diaspora in France, co-creating the Georgian parish of France, before serving as president of the Georgian Association of France. His mother, Nino Nikoladze (1873-1959) was the daughter of Niko Nikoladze, a nationalistic philosopher and large economic stakeholder during the 1918-1921 independence period. Zeinab Kedia (1921-2016), Salome Zourabichvili's mother, was born a few months before the Russian invasion of 1921 in Istanbul, from a family originating from Mingrelia.

Salome Zourabichvili has one brother, Otar, who has served as president of the Georgian Association in French since 2006. Among her first cousins, she counts music composer Nicolas Zourabichvili and famed academician Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, who has a permanent seat in the Académie française.

Early Life
Salomé Nino Zourabichvili was born on 18 March 1952 in Paris. She enrolled in 1969 at the Institute of Political Studies of Paris, also known as Sciences Po, from which she graduates with a degree in International Relations. Following her French education, she enrolls in the New York-based Columbia University for the 1972-1973 school year. There, she studied in the School of International and Public Affairs, under, notably, Zbignew Brzezinski, a foreign policy export who had just founded the Trilateral Commission.

Early Diplomatic Career
In 1974, she quits her studies to work for the French diplomatic service. She is selected as a secretary of third rank for the French Embassy in Rome, which is at the time operated by Charles Lucet. She serves there in the midst of the complicated Years of Lead, a historical period in the 1970s during which far-right and far-left groups lead a period of terrorist attacks and political assassinations throughout Italy. She is promoted three years later, being hired as a secretary of second rank to the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in 1977, working under Ambassador Jacques Leprette in New York; in this function, she witnesses France take on the presidency of the UN Security Council twice.

In 1980, Zourabichvili returned to Paris, working as an analytical agent for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Center for Strategic Planning until 1984, before returning as a secretary of first rank at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. for four years. During that time, she visits Georgia with her mother on vacation, in 1986, for the first time.

In 1988, she returns to Europe for a year, working as First Secretary in the OSCE headquarters of Vienna, Austria, before being dispatched as an adviser to the French Embassy in N'Djamena, in the midst of civil unrest that resulted in the rise to power of Idriss Déby. In 1992, she finally returns to Western Europe, being assigned to the French representation to NATO in Brussels, Belgium.

Western Europe and Paris
Remaining in Brussels, Zourabichvili is appointed under the Mitterand administration as France's permanent representative to the Western European Union, a precursor to the modern European Union, in the midst of the organization's involvement in the Yugoslavian conflicts, in 1993. This experience allows her to become an adviser to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs when she returns to Paris in 1996. Two years later, she becomes the Under Director in charge of Strategic Affairs, Security, and Disarmament within the Ministry, a position she keeps until becoming Director of International and Strategic Relations within the General Secretariat of National Defense, a position that helps her communicate extensively with the Strategical Affairs Bureau of NATO.

Her time serving the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs coincides with the service of Hubert Védrine, who is minister from 1997 to 2002. The latter's term was heavily involved with the Kosovo War, which saw forces of the French Directorate-General for External Security supporting the Kosovar side of the conflict.

Ambassador to Georgia
On 11 September 2003, Salome Zourabichvili is appointed by President Jacques Chirac to become the new ambassador of France to Georgia, replacing Mireille Musso. Arriving under the tumultuous era of the Eduard Shevardnadze presidency, who took power following a 1993 coup, she witnessed the November 2003 parliamentary elections that led to an overwhelming victory of the governing coalition, while under severe allegations of voter intimidation and ballot stuffing. The controversy resulted in massive protests that would ultimately lead to the Rose Revolution, bringing to power a younger, pro-Western coalition under the leadership of former Justice Minister Mikheil Saakashvili.

In January 2004, Saakashvili was elected President with a 96% majority, while repeat parliamentary elections in March brought Saakashvili's United National Movement 135 out of 150 legislative seats. One of the new president's first foreign trips is to France, where he meets with President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and discusses his ambitions for Zourabichvili's involvement in Georgian politics. On March 11, he announces his intent to nominate the French ambassador as Foreign Affairs Minister of Georgia, despite her having only the French citizenship, under a special agreement with Paris, confirming previous rumors heard in the media in January. On March 20, the Parliament granted her the Georgian citizenship, making her the first person to hold dual citizenship in Georgia. On March 24, she was officially appointed by President Saakashvili to head the Foreign Affairs Ministry, replacing Tedo Japaridze.

For a short time, she remains at the service of both France and Georgia and it is only on June 25 that the French government appoints a new ambassador, Philippe Lefort, thus vacating Zourabichvili from her French foreign service.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

 * 2004
 * 24 March: Evgeni Primakov, president of Russia's Chamber of Commerce, to hold talks with PM Zhvania, acting Foreign Minister Zurabishvili and President of Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Erosi Kitsmarishvili.
 * July 4: SZ complains about the defacing of the Shota Rustaveli fresco in Israel, saying "“We have learned just yesterday that the fresco of Shota Rustaveli has been damaged. We have informed the Israelian authroities regarding the incident and have also expressed out protest regarding this act of vandalism."

Adjara Crisis

 * April 14: PM Zhvania instructed Zurabishvili to set up a special group, tasked to brief the international organizations over recent developments in Adjara, following Abashidze's refusal to disarm illegal paramilitary groups. She states, "Abashidze’s regime and drug traffic in Adjara poses threat to entire region and we should focus our foreign friends’ attention on this particular issue"
 * May 3: Following a statement by the Council of Europe criticizing the leaderships of Tbilisi and Batumi for a lack of dialogue following the explosion of the bridge, she issues a critical statement saying, "Explosion of bridges does not mean that the central authorities of Georgia and Adjara’s regional leadership have lost their ability to dialogue as marked in the CoE statement. Simply, this act was directed by one person [Aslan Abashidze] against his own people" and urged the CoE to change its statement.
 * May 4: PM Zhvania and Zurabishvili meet with foreign diplomats over crisis.
 * May 6: Following Abashidze's departure, Zurabishvili heads to Moscow and states that, "Russia played a huge role in the settlement of the Adjarian crisis. Aslan Abashidze’s resignation creates a favorable atmosphere for talks."
 * June 16: Some of the $1 billion donated by the EU Donors Conference to Georgia thanks to SZ's diplomacy is set to be allocated for Adjara's reintegration.
 * July 5: A fact-finding mission from PACE arrives to monitor the post-revolution situation.

Secessionist Crises

 * 2004
 * May 6: Following Abashidze's departure, she breaks with Pres. Saakashvili and says there are "no parallels" between the solved Adjara conflict and the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts. However, she also states that, the departure "shows the Georgian government can resolve conflicts by democratic and peaceful means."
 * June 25: SZ meets with Deputy Russian MFA Valerie Loshchinin after the latter met with South Ossetian leader Kokoev. At the meeting, she makes an official proposal to set up a joint Russian-Georgian checkpoint at the Roki Tunnel to prevent weapons smuggling, a proposal rejected by Tskhinvali. A Joint Control Commission is expected to be set up in early July in Moscow to start negotiations over the conflict.
 * July 1: Russian Foreign Ministry special ambassador Mikhail Maiorov is bashed by SZ during the first JCC meeting in Moscow, over his refusal to say which two countries are connected by the Roki Tunnel.

Ministry Reforms

 * 2004
 * June 15: SZ states that, "I think that [staff] reforms will be over soon and come September we will start to work at full capacity" and promises further reforms.
 * June 23: SZ appoints new ambassadors:
 * Gega Mgaloblishvili – Ambassador of Georgia to Turkey
 * Levan Asatiani – Ambassador of Georgia to Iran
 * Davit Aptsiauri – Ambassador of Georgia to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia
 * Natia Japaridze –Ambassador of Georgia to France and Representative at UNESCO
 * Zurab Beridze – Ambassador of Georgia to Romania and Moldova
 * Davit Zalkaliani –Ambassador of Georgia to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
 * Zurab Shurgaia –Ambassador of Georgia to Kazakhstan
 * Ketevan Bagrationi – Ambassador of Georgia to the Holy See
 * June 25: Parliament revokes the credentials of 9 ambassadors as part of reforms: Italy, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan, Slovenia-Slovakia-Austria-Hungary, NATO. Ambassador to Ukraine-Moldova-Romania remains only in Ukraine. Ambassador to Poland-Germany remains only in Germany.

Pro-Western Policies
June 29-July 1: Italian MFA visits Georgia and meets with SZ.
 * 2004
 * April 6-7: Brussels trip with Pres. Saakashvili, to meet with Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Secretary General of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
 * April 7: Concerning the deployment of new troops to Iraq, she describes it, "a sign of solidarity with the US who have helped us [before] when we were in need. It is, if you want, an expression of the Georgian character: it is hard for the Americans in Iraq now, and we have to be there by their side." She also states that, "at this stage of development of its statehood Georgia needs an army that is not only good for the parades. Army needs an experience in hardest situations."
 * April 9: In an interview for Russian Vremia Novostei, she states that, "Georgia”s integration to NATO is a political decision, one of the priorities along with normalization of relations with Russia and integration into Europe. But this does not mean that we will deploy any foreign base here."
 * April 22-24: German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer visits the country and meets with Zurabishvili and Saakashvili. They pledge close cooperation and assisting Georgia with European integration.
 * May 11-13: Trip to Strasbourg. Meeting with Javier Solana and participates in the meeting of the Committee of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Council of Europe, amid an ongoing dispute between Saakashvili and the CoE over the latter's comments about the Adjara crisis. While some in her ministry pushed for the removal of diplomatic visa from the CoE's rep in Georgia, she met with Sec. Gen. Walter Schwimmer and diffused the tensions, obtaining an apology from Schwimmer.
 * May 31-June 2: U.S. trip. Meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell and NS Adviser Condolezza Rice.
 * June 7: Brussels trip. Meeting with NATO leadership to discuss the recently-submitted IPAP to NATO plan, in April.
 * June 14: Thanks to negotiations with SZ, EU Foreign Ministers announce the creation of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), a project including Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, creating a privileged relationship with the EU. The EU also announces a Rule of Law aid mission, dispatching legal experts from across Europe to assist Georgia with judicial reform.
 * June 16: The Donors Conference, a group set up by the European Commission, pledges $1 billion to Georgia for 2004-2006, to be used for improving government administration, fighting corruption, reforming the energy sector, and reintegrating Adjara.
 * July 2: Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Bruno Haller visits Georgia and meets with SZ.
 * July 5-6: To discuss details of the ENP proposal, Janez Potocnik, the European Union Commissioner in charge of enlargement policy, visits Tbilisi and meets with SZ.

Russian Bases

 * 2004
 * April 9: In an interview for Vremia Novostei, she states that, "We will preserve our principles: the country”s sovereignty implies absence of foreign militaries on its territory. Georgia is not interested in having Russian or any foreign military bases on its territory." This is meant to signal opposition to Russian, but also Western military bases in the country.
 * May 31: Ministry issues an appeal urging Russia to resume talks over the military issues
 * June 1: In DC, Zurabishvili says, "On the one hand, we agreed with the Russian side to continue negotiations over the military issues and on the other hand, we tried to resort to new approaches, particularly the proposed creation of a joint anti-terrorism center in exchange for the pulling out of Russian military bases. Georgia still insists on the withdrawal of these Russian bases, located in Batumi and Akhalkalaki, within three years. Russia wants eight years or even more. I think an innovative, even revolutionary approach is needed in order to solve this problem in the shortest period of time. the proposal over the setting up of a joint anti-terrorism center would be precisely this kind of ?innovative? approach." On June 4, Moscow confirmed interest in the center in exchange of the bases.
 * June 2: Following a meeting with Zourabichvili, Colin Powell states "Our position is clear. We believe that the bases should be removed. They no longer serve a real military purpose. But I am confident that in the months ahead, with continued goodwill on the part of all parties, we’ll find a way to move forward"
 * June 9: SZ states, "Russia's two military bases in Georgia ?have no strategic importance? for Moscow any more and they should be pulled out. We will still push the issue of pulling out of Russian military bases from Georgia. Russia should understand that their bases have no strategic importance any more. And the issue should not be a subject of dispute between Tbilisi and Moscow"
 * June 10: Russian MFA issues a statement agreeing to resume talks over bases in the near future.

Strengthening of Eastern European Ties

 * 2004
 * April 30: Trip to Baku to participate in the Black Sea Cooperation summit and meets with President Ilham Aliev and reps of Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to discuss closer cooperation.
 * June 11-12: Estonian MFA Kristiina Ojuland visits Tbilisi and meets with SZ to discuss closer ties.

United Nations Service
En 2010, elle devient coordinatrice du groupe d'experts qui assiste le comité des sanctions contre l'Iran du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies15.

Teaching Career
En septembre 2006, elle devient professeur associé à l'Institut d'études politiques de Paris et enseigne en master de relations internationales (politique de voisinage de l'UE, les « nouvelles démocraties » entre l'UE et la Russie)16.

Elle donne une série de cours publics sur la diplomatie et les relations internationales de la Géorgie à l'université d'État Ilia Tchavtchavadzé de Tbilissi au cours de l’année 2007.

Personal Life
Divorcée de Nicolas Gorjestani5 (Koki Gougouchvili6,7,8), économiste à la Banque mondiale, elle a deux enfants : Kethevane, journaliste franco-américaine9,10, et Teymouraz11,12, diplomate13.

Elle épouse Janri Kachia, journaliste et écrivain géorgien, et opposant de l'ère soviétique, réfugié politique en France en 1982, mort en 2012.