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Georgia’s president-elect welcomes Garibashvili’s nomination as PM

He expressed confidence that he would have “a good collegiate relationship” with Garibashvili

TBILISI, November 2 (Itar-Tass) - Georgia’s President-elect Georgy Margvelashvili has welcomed the nomination of Irakly Garibashvili’s nomination as prime minister.

“The candidature of Irakly Garibashvili is absolutely acceptable for me. He is a special and successful member of the government,” Margvelashvili said on Saturday, November 2.

He expressed confidence that he would have “a good collegiate relationship” with Garibashvili.

Margvelashvili, 44, was elected the new president of Georgia from the Georgian Dream coalition. He is not a member of any political party but actively supported Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili after he had come into politics in October 2011 and had his full trust.

In October 2012, Margvelashvili worked as interior minister and, since February 2013, also as a vice-prime minister. He resigned from both posts in July 2013 to prepare for the presidential election.

Under the new version of the Constitution, the prime minister will have “the broadest [executive] powers” after November 17 when the new president is to be inaugurated, Ivanishvili said. “I am confident that after confirmation as prime minister Garibashvili will become a successful head of government,” he said.

On October 28, Ivanishvili confirmed his earlier statements that he would resign on November 24. After that the parliament will consider the nomination of his successor to be proposed by the party that has a majority in the legislature.

Following his nomination, Garibashvili thanked his predecessor and the ruling Georgian Dream coalition for their trust and pledged to do his best to successfully continue Ivanishvili's policy.

He promised that there would be no major reshuffle in the new government.

Garibashvili, 31, is a graduate of Tbilisi State University, where he majored in international relations. He also studied at the Sorbonne. From 2004 to 2012, he worked at the Cartu Group run by Ivanishvili at the time. Garibashvili was also the head of the Cartu charity foundation from 2005 to 2012.

Garibashvili became Ivanishvili’s ally and one of the leaders of the party Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia within the Georgian Dream coalition, which won the parliamentary elections on October 1, 2012.

The parliament endorsed him as interior minister in Ivanishvili's Cabinet on October 25, 2012.