22 Facts About Kakhaber Okriashvili

Kakhaber "Kakha" Okriashvili is a Georgian doctor, businessman, and politician, founder of the PSP pharmacy network and a member of Parliament since 2004.

Kakhaber Okriashvili was born on 21 March 1966 in Tbilisi, at the time the capital of Soviet Georgia.

Kakhaber Okriashvili has two brothers, Vazha and Nikoloz, both of whom continue to be involved in the various companies founded by him.

Kakhaber Okriashvili graduated from the Tbilisi Medical Institute in 1989, after he which he became head doctor at the Medical Clinic of Gantiadi, a village close to Dmanisi.

Kakhaber Okriashvili's name remains linked with at least twelve companies.

Kakhaber Okriashvili is a co-founding investor of Georgian Beer Company, created by his business and political partner Tsezar Chocheli and one of Georgia's largest beer and soft soda producers.

Kakha Kakhaber Okriashvili is a large donor of several non-governmental organizations, including the largest contributor to the Demographic Revival Fund, a group aiming at addressing the demographic decrease that Georgia has experienced since 1991.

Kakhaber Okriashvili defeated his opponents in the first round of voting, although Georgian Dream defeated UNM nationwide.

On 5 November 2012, less than a month after the Georgian Dream-led Parliament came into session, Kakha Kakhaber Okriashvili was one of six UNM deputies elected from various majoritarian districts to leave the party and launch the Nonpartisan Independent Majoritarian MPs' Faction, led by MP Gogi Liparteliani, and became its vice-chair.

Kakhaber Okriashvili became chairman of the independent faction on 21 March 2013 and regularly criticized both the government and the opposition, calling the former "inexperienced" and the latter "unconstructive".

Kakhaber Okriashvili would maintain a focus on foreign policy in his fourth term, during which he served in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Several media outlets have reported that Kakhaber Okriashvili used his influence to lobby for protectionist policies in the drug market, while Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili would later accuse Kakhaber Okriashvili's PSP of seeking to block the legalization of Turkish drug imports, a claim denied by the company.

Kakha Kakhaber Okriashvili has been described as a conservative, calling for the partial decriminalization of financial crimes, opposing a bill that banned commercial advertisements on the Georgian Public Broadcaster, and supporting a pension that reform that would allow individuals to opt-out and would keep wealthy families out of the public retirement fund.

Kakhaber Okriashvili has called on the National Bank to enforce regulations banning commercial banks from being involved in non-financial activities.

Kakhaber Okriashvili was an active opponent of a major labor reform that provided new protections and benefits to public workers in 2020, being his party's sole "no" vote on the bill.

Kakha Kakhaber Okriashvili has stood out in Parliament as an advocate for the majoritarian system of elections, favoring electoral districts over a proportional system that he believes can prevent fragile democracies from building strong national institutions.

In May 2020, Kakha Kakhaber Okriashvili was one of three MPs to vote against another constitutional amendment that reduced the amount of majoritarian electoral districts from 75 to 30 in the 2020 election, although the amendment eventually passed.

Kakhaber Okriashvili predicted other pro-business GD leaders were likely to leave the party as well, including Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.

Kakha Kakhaber Okriashvili was nominated by the Strength is in Unity bloc as candidate for the 14th Parliamentary District, facing GD's Meshveliani and 11 other candidates, while being placed in 15th position on the bloc's electoral list.

Kakhaber Okriashvili's campaign was characterized by a relatively high level of violence in comparison with other districts.

Irakli Kobakhidze, at the time head of GD's nationwide campaign, accused Kakhaber Okriashvili of inciting brawls himself.

Kakhaber Okriashvili has remained an activist in Dmanisi: in May 2021, he accused the government of empowering local criminal groups after several injuries took place during a brawl between ethnic Azerbaijani and Georgian families.