Presidential Inauguration Could Take Place in Poti

The inauguration of the new president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, is expected to take place on December 16. Traditionally, the presidential inauguration ceremony is held in Tbilisi, in the courtyard of the former Parliament building, but Zurabishvili's campaign is floating the idea of conducting her inagauration in Poti. 

Zurabishvili was born in Paris, but her family history is connected to Poti, a small west Georgian shipping town on the Black Sea coast. The president elect's great grandfather, Niko Nikoladze, was an important statesman and journalist in the 19th century who served as mayor of Poti from 1894-1912. Nikoladze played a large role in the town's development as an important maritime and trading center. A wealthy public benefactor, he also contributed significantly to the expansion of Georgia's railway system and developing the Grozny-Poti Pipeline. After the October Revolution and the fall of the Russian Empire, Nikoladze joined the radical Georgian intelligentsia, advocating for Georgia's full independence and actively participating in the social and political life of the short-lived Democratic Republic of Georgia.

If Zurabishvili's inauguration is held in Poti, it will close a circle for her family and also for her journey to office. She choose to start her presidential campaign on August 16 in Poti, with a speech at the Niko Nikoladze Museum in the village of Didi Jikhaishi. In her speech, she announced, "I will be a President for all of our society but, first of all, for women. The first female president must be a president for women.”

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Georgia Today