11 Facts About Givi Targamadze

Givi Targamadze was born on 23 July 1968 and is a Georgian politician in the United National Movement.

An ally of Mikhail Saakashvili, Targamadze was one of the leaders of the United National Movement and the 2003 Rose Revolution.

Givi Targamadze served as Defense and Security Committee Chairman of the Georgian Parliament from 2004 to 2010, a period marked by tensions with Russia and a brief 2008 war over the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Givi Targamadze is closely allied with President Mikhail Saakashvili, and in 2003, was one of the leaders of the Rose Revolution which forced the resignation of long-time president Eduard Shevardnadze, allowing Saakashvili to assume the office.

Givi Targamadze traveled to Ukraine during the 2004 Orange Revolution, in which Viktor Yushchenko assumed office following an annulled presidential election found to have been fraudulent, and to Kyrgyzstan during the 2005 Tulip Revolution, which overthrew President Askar Akayev.

From 2004 to 2009, Givi Targamadze served as Defense and Security Committee Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, during which time he frequently criticized the Russian government and military.

Givi Targamadze called for a greater Georgian military build-up in response, calling Russian aggression "evidently unavoidable".

In July 2005, Givi Targamadze accused Russia of "taking a direct part in an internal conflict in Georgia" through as many as 120 military intelligence agents on sabotage missions.

Givi Targamadze joined his party in November 2007 in criticizing former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili, who accused Saakashvili of corruption after leaving office.

Givi Targamadze described the remarks as a "ploy" by opposition candidate Badri Patarkatsishvili.

Givi Targamadze stated he had not met Udaltsov, and dismissed the video as "propaganda" without further comment.