page_title: Giorgi Margvelashvili
section_title: President
hierarchical_section_title: Giorgi Margvelashvili / Political career / President
caption_attribution_description: English: President Giorgi Margvelashvili of Georgia meets his Lithuanian counterpart Dalia Grybauskaitė in November 2013.
context_page_description: Giorgi Margvelashvili is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth President of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018.
  A philosopher by education, he was twice the rector of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs from 2000 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2012. In October 2012, he became a member of the newly formed cabinet of Bidzina Ivanishvili as Minister of Education and Science of Georgia. In February 2013, he was additionally appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister. Margvelashvili was named by the Ivanishvili-led Georgian Dream coalition as its presidential candidate in May 2013 and he won the October 2013 presidential election with 62% of votes.
  With Margvelashvili's election, a new constitution came into effect, significantly curtailing the president's powers in favor of the Prime Minister and the Parliament. Shortly thereafter, Margvelashvili's relations with Ivanishvili and the ruling Georgian Dream party leadership soured to the point of a full split. During his tenure, Margvelashvili tried to be a voice of moderation and was critical of the Georgian Dream's consolidation of power.
context_section_description: Margvelashvili was sworn in as the fourth President of Georgia at a ceremony in the courtyard of the Parliament's old building in Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, on 17 November 2013. With this, a new constitution came into effect which devolved significant power from the President to the Prime Minister. Margvelashvili's inauguration was not attended by his predecessor Mikheil Saakashvili, who cited disrespect by the new government towards its predecessors and opponents.  
  Margvelashvili initially refused to move to the luxurious presidential palace built under Saakashvili in Tbilisi, opting for more modest quarters in the building of the State Chancellery until a 19th-century building once occupied by the U.S. embassy in Georgia was refurbished for him. However, he later started to occasionally use the palace for official ceremonies. This was one of the reasons for which Margvelashvili was publicly criticized, in a March 2014 interview with Imedi TV, by the ex-Prime Minister Ivanishvili, who said he was "disappointed" in Margvelashvili.
caption: President Giorgi Margvelashvili meeting his Lithuanian counterpart, Dalia Grybauskaitė, in November 2013.
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