‘Back to her employers’: Pro-Western Former Georgian President Receives US Fellowship
According to the McCain Institute, Salome Zourabichvili will continue advocating for a new election in her position. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Salome Zourabichvili will continue advocating for new elections in the former Soviet republic in her new position, the McCain Institute has announced.
The former President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, has been appointed as a fellow at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, according to the academic institution. The speaker of Georgia’s parliament criticized this appointment, claiming she is returning to “the entity that employed her.”
Zourabichvili, who was born in France and held a pro-Western stance during her presidency, has been selected for the 2025 Kissinger Fellowship, named after former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, as stated by the McCain Institute on Monday.
In response to the offer, Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili compared Zourabichvili’s new role to the earlier academic position held by former President Mikhail Saakashvili.
“Almost 12 years ago, a similar gesture was extended to ..Saakashvili, at Tufts University,” he wrote on X on Tuesday. “Despite having pledged allegiance to Georgia alone, Saakashvili later became a Ukrainian citizen and Zourabichvili too, eventually, is likely to return to her native France.”
Papuashvili concluded that neither had truly served Georgia, suggesting they instead returned “to the entity that employed them.”
In December, Georgian lawmakers elected former Manchester City football player Mikhail Kavelashvili from the People’s Party as president, who, alongside Georgian Dream, forms the ruling coalition.
However, Zourabichvili refused to acknowledge Kavelashvili as her successor, asserting that the parliamentary elections in October, which resulted in a significant victory for Georgian Dream, had been manipulated.
Despite not providing proof of any electoral fraud, the pro-Western opposition demonstrated for weeks following the vote, calling for a rerun of the election. Zourabichvili supported these protests and joined the demonstrators. The 72-year-old also threatened to remain in the presidential palace in Tbilisi but ultimately left in late December.
Georgia operates as a parliamentary republic, with executive power held by the prime minister and government, while the president’s role is largely ceremonial.
According to the McCain Institute, during her presidency from 2018 to 2024, Zourabichvili “forcefully defended Georgia’s path to EU and NATO integration and supported democratic reform, famously vetoing the Georgian Dream government’s Kremlin-modeled ‘foreign agent law’ and standing against the party’s autocratic turn.”
In her new capacity, the former president “will use her vast diplomatic, leadership, and policymaking experience to push for new elections and a democratic path forward in her country,” the institute stated.
In May, the parliament in Tbilisi overturned Zourabichvili’s veto, passing legislation that mandated NGOs, media, and individuals receiving over 20% of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents and disclose their donors.
The Georgian political opposition condemned the legislation, labeling it a “Russian law” and accusing the ruling party of modeling it after a 2012 Russian statute. The ruling party insisted that the law was inspired by the US Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 and argued that the Georgian variant is significantly more lenient than its American counterpart.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated last month that the law was instrumental in thwarting a planned coup in Georgia involving “foreign funding.”
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
The former President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, has been appointed as a fellow at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, according to the academic institution. The speaker of Georgia’s parliament criticized this appointment, claiming she is returning to “the entity that employed her.”
Zourabichvili, who was born in France and held a pro-Western stance during her presidency, has been selected for the 2025 Kissinger Fellowship, named after former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, as stated by the McCain Institute on Monday.
In response to the offer, Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili compared Zourabichvili’s new role to the earlier academic position held by former President Mikhail Saakashvili.
“Almost 12 years ago, a similar gesture was extended to ..Saakashvili, at Tufts University,” he wrote on X on Tuesday. “Despite having pledged allegiance to Georgia alone, Saakashvili later became a Ukrainian citizen and Zourabichvili too, eventually, is likely to return to her native France.”
Papuashvili concluded that neither had truly served Georgia, suggesting they instead returned “to the entity that employed them.”
In December, Georgian lawmakers elected former Manchester City football player Mikhail Kavelashvili from the People’s Party as president, who, alongside Georgian Dream, forms the ruling coalition.
However, Zourabichvili refused to acknowledge Kavelashvili as her successor, asserting that the parliamentary elections in October, which resulted in a significant victory for Georgian Dream, had been manipulated.
Despite not providing proof of any electoral fraud, the pro-Western opposition demonstrated for weeks following the vote, calling for a rerun of the election. Zourabichvili supported these protests and joined the demonstrators. The 72-year-old also threatened to remain in the presidential palace in Tbilisi but ultimately left in late December.
Georgia operates as a parliamentary republic, with executive power held by the prime minister and government, while the president’s role is largely ceremonial.
According to the McCain Institute, during her presidency from 2018 to 2024, Zourabichvili “forcefully defended Georgia’s path to EU and NATO integration and supported democratic reform, famously vetoing the Georgian Dream government’s Kremlin-modeled ‘foreign agent law’ and standing against the party’s autocratic turn.”
In her new capacity, the former president “will use her vast diplomatic, leadership, and policymaking experience to push for new elections and a democratic path forward in her country,” the institute stated.
In May, the parliament in Tbilisi overturned Zourabichvili’s veto, passing legislation that mandated NGOs, media, and individuals receiving over 20% of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents and disclose their donors.
The Georgian political opposition condemned the legislation, labeling it a “Russian law” and accusing the ruling party of modeling it after a 2012 Russian statute. The ruling party insisted that the law was inspired by the US Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 and argued that the Georgian variant is significantly more lenient than its American counterpart.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated last month that the law was instrumental in thwarting a planned coup in Georgia involving “foreign funding.”
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
