President Appoints New National Security Council Secretary

TBILISI - President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili presented the new secretary of the National Security Council (NSC), Davit Rakviashvili, on Monday.

Rakviashvili, 48, replaced former NSC secretary Irine Imerlishvili, who was appointed by the President as a judge of the Constitutional Court of Georgia in September.

Davit Rakviashvili was a Deputy State Minister for Reintegration in 2008-2010 and was involved in the Geneva Discussions.

In 2011-2013 he served at the Georgian Embassy to the United States.

For years he led the supervisory board of Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), where Giorgi Margvelashvili served as Rector.

The President described him as an interesting and important nominee for the position and noted he had known him for 30 years. 

“I assure you that Mr. Rakviashvili is one of the most prominent climbers of my generation and people from this field all know him well. This is a serious personal indicator, which is also necessary to hold the position of the Secretary of the National Security Council and to serve the country in strengthening its self-defense,” Margvelashvili stated.

The newly appointed NSC Secretary thanked the President and noted that serving one’s homeland is a "great honor for every Georgian."

The opposition approved the President’s choice, saying Rakviashvili is a very experienced and competent person and recognizing that he will have a lot of complex tasks ahead of him as the ruling party Georgian Dream (GD) "is trying to reduce the Presidential System and weaken the role of the Security Council."

“Rakviashvili is a professional and knowledgeable person in his field. I want to wish him good luck,” UNM member Sergi Kapanadze stated.

However, majority member Gia Volsky said it would have been better if the President had discussed Rakviashvili’s candidacy with the members of the NSC.

“It would have been good if the President had consulted with the members of the NSC. However, it is the President's choice- the NSC Secretary is his assistant, whose job it is to organize NSC meetings,” said Volsky.

Political expert, Soso Tsiskarishvili, believes that Rakviashvili will be able to fulfill his duties well, because he has worked in a number of relevant positions and, as such, has good experience. 

Statutory Members of the NSC meetings are: The Prime Minister; Parliament Speaker; Minister of Foreign Affairs; Defense Minister; Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia; Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Parliament of Georgia; and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia.

The President of Georgia approves the structure of the National Security Council Office, its personnel, and regulations concerning the Office and its subdivision.

The National Security Council is an advisory body to the President of Georgia empowered to consider issues determined by the Organic Law on the National Security Council of Georgia in order to draft the highest political decisions.

By Thea Morrison

Photo: President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili and New NSC Secretary, Davit Rakviashvili