David Usupashvili

David Usupashvili დავით უსუფაშვილი
Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia
In office October 21, 2012 – November 18, 2016
President	Mikheil Saakashvili Giorgi Margvelashvili
Prime Minister	Bidzina Ivanishvili Irakli Garibashvili
Preceded by	David Bakradze
Succeeded by	Irakli Kobakhidze
Personal details
Born	March 5, 1968 Magharo, Georgian SSR
Political party	Republican Party of Georgia
Spouse(s)	Tinatin Khidasheli
Children	2
Alma mater	Tbilisi State University
Religion	Georgian Orthodox
Signature

David Usupashvili^[1] (Georgian: დავით უსუფაშვილი, Davit' Usup'ashvili) (born March 5, 1968) is a Georgian lawyer and politician who was the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia from 2012 to 2016. He served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Georgia from June 27, 2005 to November 3, 2013.

Career

Born in Magharo in Soviet Georgia, Usupashvili graduated from the Tbilisi State University with a degree in law in 1992 and obtained MA in International Development Policy from the Duke University in 1999. As a legal adviser with the State Council of Georgia, he was involved in drafting the Constitution of Georgia from 1993 to 1995. In 1994 he was among the founding members of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting human rights and the rule of law, which he led as its first chairman from 1994 to 1997. He was active in the NGO-organized protests during the November 2003 Rose Revolution, which swept Mikheil Saakashvili to the presidency of Georgia. Usupashvili then distanced himself from the alliance with Saakashvili and withdrew into opposition, becoming, in June 2005, the chairman of the Republican Party of Georgia, a position he held until being succeeded by Khatuna Samnidze in November 2013.^[2][3]

In 2011, Usupashvili allied himself with the multi-billionaire businessman-turned-politician Bidzina Ivanishvili and became one of the leaders of Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition, of which the Republican Party was part. After the coalition's victory in the 2012 parliamentary election, Usupashvili was elected the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia on October 21, 2012.^[4]

Usupashvili is married to Tinatin Khidasheli, a fellow GYLA activist and Republican Party politician.^[5]

References

1. Parliament of Georgia, David Usupashvili The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Retrieved: 1 January 2016
2. Republican Party Elects New Chairperson. Civil Georgia. November 4, 2013.
3. Usupashvili David. Republican Party of Georgia website. Accessed June 6, 2012.
4. New Parliament Speaker Elected. Civil Georgia. October 21, 2012.
5. Georgian Opposition Cries Foul Over By-Elections. Eurasianet.org. August 7, 2005.