Ukraine grants former Georgian president a governor job

President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine, 50, on Saturday reportedly appointed Georgia`s 47-year-old ex-President (see photo), who was an anti-Russian politician, as governor of the Odessa region of Ukraine. It is highly unusual that a former president becomes a governor of another country. Saakashvili’s appointment as governor of the Odessa region which is home to many pro-Russian residents would potentially increase conflicts between Ukraine and Russia.

Saakashvili has been close to Ukraine and the U.S. Born in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital city, he graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. He and Poroshenko have been longtime acquaintances, having attended the graduate school together. After graduation, he received scholarships from the U.S. State Department to earn an LLM from Columbia University and a Ph.D. at George Washington University. Then, he worked at a law firm in New York.

Saakashvili worked as a lawyer after returning home, and led the “Rose Revolution,” which ousted Georgian President and former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze in November 2003. Then he was elected president in January 2004 with an approval rating of 96 percent at age 37. However, he lost popularity due to corruption scandals and violent crackdowns on demonstrators. He self-exiled in the U.S. after failing to be elected as president for the third time in 2013.

While Saakashvili was in office, Georgia lost war with Russia in 2008. He sought NATO membership and opposed the separation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the two pro-Russian regions. He who was granted Ukrainian citizenship just ahead of his appointment said, “I’ll build a new Ukraine with Poroshenko.”

dew@donga.com