His Excellency Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia on December 21, 1967, the eldest of three brothers. After graduating with honors from the prestigious Kiev University Institute of International Relations, he moved to the U.S. to attend Columbia University as an Edmund S. Muskie Fellow, receiving a Master's degree in law in 1995. He also studied at George Washington University, and the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.

In 1995, Saakashvili was elected to the Georgian Parliament. In 2000, he was appointed Minister of Justice of Georgia, where he confronted and investigated post-Soviet Georgian corruption at the highest levels. His significant judicial reforms were so effective that they were noted with praise by the president of the World Bank.

As a result of falsified 2003 Parliamentary election results, Saakashvili and the late deputy Zurab Zhvania united to reject the election results and called on the public to protest, beginning the Rose Revolution. The revolution culminated in Saakashvili peacefully leading a group of courageous visionaries through the doors of the Parliament. On November 23, 2003, Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as President of Georgia. On January 4, 2004, the people of Georgia elected Mikheil Saakashvili as their President. At 37-years-old, he became the youngest national president in Europe.

President Saakashvili was re-elected for his second term in 2008. During his presidency from 2004 to 2013, he implemented major reforms, including firing half of the corrupt police force and introducing meritocracy in law enforcement, which transformed Georgia into a top reformer globally recognized by the World Bank for three consecutive years. His leadership dramatically improved Georgia's standing in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, and the country became one of the safest due to these reforms. He also focused on advances in renewable energy and e-governance, which contributed to the flourishing of tourism and foreign investment sectors in Georgia.

After his presidency, Saakashvili served as the Governor of Ukraine's Odessa region from 2015 to 2016, where he focused on reforming the customs system and combating organized crime. He also served as the first Senior Statesman in Residence at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 2014. Currently, he is a political opposition leader and anti-corruption advocate, frequently appearing on international media platforms to discuss political issues. He participated in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution, inviting John McCain to address the protests alongside him in December 2013. His leadership continues to inspire belief in the human capacity to overcome challenging circumstances.