1. Anri Mikhail-ipa Jergenia had been one of the leading politicians of the internationally unrecognised Republic of Abkhazia since it achieved de facto independence from Georgia.
15 Facts About Anri Jergenia
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From June 2001 to November 2002, he was the republic's Prime Minister, and for a tim, e Jergenia looked to be the favourite to succeed Abkhazia's first president Vladislav Ardzinba.
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Anri Jergenia was born on 8 August 1942 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
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Anri Jergenia graduated from Moscow State University with a diploma in Law in 1963.
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On 14 April 1999, Anri Jergenia was reappointed by the People's Assembly to a second term as Prosecutor General only after several rounds of voting.
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From 1990 to 2002 Anri Jergenia was the chief negotiator and designated representative at the Georgian-Abkhazian peace conference for President Vladislav Ardzinba.
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Anri Jergenia was appointed to the post of Prime Minister on 7 June 2001.
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Anri Jergenia openly discussed working towards associate membership of Russia and encouraged Abkhazians to take up Russian passports, which a large percentage of the population eventually did.
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Anri Jergenia pledged a military alliance with Eduard Kokoity, President of South Ossetia to discourage Georgia from attacking either entity.
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On 29 November 2002, Anri Jergenia was fired by President Ardzinba, officially due to his failure to ensure fulfillment of budget targets and to prepare adequately for winter.
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However, for the first nine months of that year, the budget had been implemented fully, and Anri Jergenia's dismissal was widely seen as politically motivated.
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Some think that Ardzinba found that Anri Jergenia was too openly ambitious about the presidency, that he put Russian interests above Abkhazian interest, or that he dropped support for Anri Jergenia due to his unpopularity with the Abkhazian population.
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Anri Jergenia had been a close friend and collaborator of Ardzinba since the 1970s, but the two fell out when Ardzinba dismissed Anri Jergenia as Prime Minister.
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Already during the 2002 Parliamentary elections, while still Prime Minister, Anri Jergenia had supported the parliamentary candidates of public movement Amtsakhara.
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Anri Jergenia then became Amtsakhara's favoured candidate for the October 2004 presidential elections before it entered into an alliance with United Abkhazia and chose to back Sergei Bagapsh instead.