Georgia Welcomes New Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces

TBILISI – President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, appointed Brigadier General Vladimer Chachibaia as the new Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces (GAF), replacing Major General Vakhtang Kapanadze, whose term expired on November 22.

According to the Presidential Administration, Margvelashvili issued both orders on dismissal and appointment yesterday.

Chachibaia’s candidacy was offered to the President, Commander-in-Chief of Georgia’s Armed Forces, by Minister of Defense of Georgia Levan Izoria during the recent National Security Council meeting.

The President made the decisions in compliance with Paragraph 3 of Article 73 of the Convention.

Chachibaia, new chief of the GAF, served in this position in November 2008 but quit the post four months later; then serving as Deputy Defense Minister until August 2009. After serving at the Georgian Embassy to the United States as an adviser, he returned to the General Staff as Deputy Chief.

In October 2015, he was offered the role of High Military Adviser of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). 

Former GAF Chief Kapanadze is expected to be appointed as Georgia’s top military representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 

The ceremony of the authority handover was held at Vaziani Military Base and was attended by the President and military officials. Margvelashvili thanked General Kapanadze for his service and devotion to the country and wished success to the new chief, congratulating all on Saint George’s Day.

“Mr. General, you have a very hard mission from now. I am sure that with your comrades you will fulfill this mission, move our country forward and play a main role in the victory of Georgia,” the President told Chachbaia.

The New General stated that his most important task was to transform Georgia’s armed forces into one fully compatible with NATO standards.

"We will create an armed forces to meet the dangers that exist in the region,” Chachibaia said, adding that General Staff changes are planned in the future.

By Thea Morrison

Photo: Ceremony of appointment Vladimer Chachibaia as the new Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces