PM Kvirikashvili’s 1st Ever Interview on His Private Life & Past

In an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW in OK! Magazine Georgia’s New Year issue, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, talks on the major achievements of 2017, his childhood, New Year memories, and famous Georgian poet Vazha-Pshavela. Check out a sneak preview below.

Major achievement of 2017

“One of the biggest successes in my life is related to 2017. The visa liberalization is not the achievement of one or two people; it’s the achievement of the whole country, the result of the joint hard work of the government. There were polemics and hard debates, but everyone had one, shared goal. The diplomatic team did an excellent job in order to reach this goal quickly. The declaration of trust in our country was the most important thing. Athens, the cradle of Europe, was where we chose to travel to after the visa liberalization came into effect, together with students, startupers and scientists… I will never forget that emotion of crossing a border without needing a visa: I felt like I was travelling to Europe for the first time. I would never have dreamed such a possibility in my childhood.”

Childhood & New Year

“I had a wonderful childhood; we lived together, my great grandmother, grandmother, my parents, and two children, in a three room “Khrushchevka” [low-ceilinged standard soviet block of flats]. My grandmother was a well-known math teacher at Komarov School, and it’s from her I inherited my love of math. She sat with me and taught me sometimes until 2 o’clock in the morning. My father is an economist. My mother was a philologist and a specialist in ancient Greek and Latin. She taught me Horatius’s Odes in Latin, which I still remember, at the age of 50.

“The emotion of New Year is something I always remember from my childhood. Even today, New Year is the warmest, most family-friendly and romantic celebration for me. I remember my family and those no longer with us. I remember the joy of Santa Claus, too. My father used to be the Santa Claus for us, and for a long time I didn’t know it was him. I remember how he steamed up the windows for me to draw on, the smell of roasted pumpkin, and I’m happy that now, my children have the same emotions.

“Just as I did in my childhood, I always make a wish on New Year’s Eve. But my wishes now are, of course, more difficult and bigger than the ones from my youth. I wish the people in my country could live happily, with fewer hardships. Not a day goes by that I’m not troubled by this fact. I know very well what people are in need of, and I feel a great responsibility towards them. My biggest wish is the unification of Georgia; I want to breathe air filled with the smell of sea and pine-trees in Abkhazia and step foot on the land of Samachablo.”

On his children

“I’m trying to keep my children out of the media spotlight. I don’t want them to become the target of attacks that may cause them pain. I want them to live like normal children; I want the life of my family to be normal during and after the time of me being Prime Minister. I don’t want my children to feel they are in any way special just because their father is a Prime Minister. They, like all other children, are special, with their own dreams and goals. I want to do for them what we’re doing for any other youngster: to give them a chance to receive a good education, have a fair today and a stable and hopeful future.”

ON Vazha-Pshavela

“There are many we can name as a standout figure in Georgian history, be it a king, a thinker, a commander. But I say Vazha-Pshavela. The best characteristic our nation has, which I would like to have preserved even a thousand years from now, is the philosophy of Vazha-Pshavela. I can’t compare him to anyone. It’s the code of our nation that helps us survive, which is so precious for us, and one you want to pass on to your children; one which makes you proud that you’re a human being: all this is Vazha-Pshavela. You can take each of his phrases and dedicate a scientific study to it. Vazha-Pshavela is all about spirituality, the infinity of forgiveness, tolerence and inner freedom; the essence of pride, bravery, battle. Whenever I read Vazha-Pshavela, I’m more and more assured in the simple truth that you can’t always be a hero, but you should always remain a human being.”

The GT Team