A former Communist bureaucrat and enterprise manager, Patsatsia led the Georgian cabinet, with Eduard Shevardnadze as Georgia's Head of State, during the years of civil strife and economic crisis. His appointment as Prime Minister was an attempt to placate the supporters of President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, militarily ousted in 1992, as Patsatsia was from Zugdidi, the powerbase of Gamsakhurdia loyalists. After holding a seat in the Parliament of Georgia from 1995 to 1999, he has played no role in politics since then.