37 Facts About Khatia Dekanoidze

Khatia Dekanoidze served as Chairwoman of the UNM Faction in the Parliament, the only opposition faction in the legislature, from May 2021 to February 2023.

Khatia Dekanoidze was born on 20 January 1977, in Tbilisi, at the time the capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Khatia Dekanoidze studied international relations and diplomacy and received her bachelor's degree from Tbilisi State University in 1999.

Khatia Dekanoidze joined the public service following the Rose Revolution of 2003 that brought to power the young pro-Western government of Mikheil Saakashvili.

Khatia Dekanoidze briefly joined the diplomatic sector, working at the Georgian Embassy in Washington, DC from 2005 to 2007.

Khatia Dekanoidze's appointment was meant to enact reforms into the law enforcement recruitment procedures.

In 2022, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili would accuse Khatia Dekanoidze of playing a large role in the controversial treatment of prisoners, which included alleged human rights abuses and potential torture, even though his statement has not been corroborated by other sources, including investigations launched after Saakashvili's defeat She held the post until May 2012.

On 30 May 2012, Khatia Dekanoidze was appointed as Director of the National Examination Center of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, an office in charge of overseeing university entrance exams and teacher certifications.

Khatia Dekanoidze was appointed to replace Maia Miminoshvili, whose dismissal after her son attended an opposition campaign rally caused a large controversy during the 2012 parliamentary election.

Khatia Dekanoidze had to face the protest resignation of 70 staff members upon her taking office, while ensuring the proper holding of the national exams set within weeks of her appointment.

Khatia Dekanoidze's appointment was meant to symbolize the new high priority status of education reform for the Saakashvili government, as Dekanoidze at the time benefited from high approval ratings due to her past as a lead police reformer.

Khatia Dekanoidze took over Ukrainian law enforcement at a time when it had small public approval, crime was sharply rising, most police officers were without full equipment, and corruption remained strongly entrenched.

Khatia Dekanoidze appointed mainly new faces to replace them, like Andriy Kryshchenko as head of the Police of Kyiv, and former Georgian MIA official Giorgi Lortkipanidze as head of the Police of Odesa.

Khatia Dekanoidze launched an entirely new patrol police in 29 cities in the first half of 2016, a mobile police car program in Kyiv, a River Police Patrol on the Kyiv section of the Dnieper river, and enhanced patrol units in the capital in October 2016.

Khatia Dekanoidze launched a pilot program to send traffic violations to people instead of only relying on police stops.

In June 2016, the first-ever Kyiv Pride parade took place despite threats by far-right organizations, as Khatia Dekanoidze deployed 7,000 police officers and led the operation that arrested 50 radicals during the parade.

Khatia Dekanoidze called him a personal friend and helped set up a special inter-agency group between the National Police and the SBU to investigate his death.

Khatia Dekanoidze soon returned to Georgia and had her citizenship reinstated in May 2017.

On 26 August 2020, Khatia Dekanoidze was nominated by UNM as its nominee for the Parliamentary Majoritarian District of Isani in Tbilisi, a nomination that led to controversy within the Georgian opposition as the latter had previously agreed on Giorgi Vashadze of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli party as a joint opposition candidate two months prior.

Khatia Dekanoidze formally rejoined Parliament on 28 May 2021 and was elected as Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Faction of the "Strength is in Unity" opposition bloc.

Khatia Dekanoidze opposed President Salome Zourabichvili's appointment of Giorgi Kalandarishvili as Chairman of the Central Elections Commission.

Khatia Dekanoidze was UNM's nominee for Mayor of Kutaisi during the October 2021 local elections.

Khatia Dekanoidze alleged several other violations, including the use of administrative resources, the forceful use of public employees in campaign activities, and voter bribery by Deputy Infrastructure Minister Koba Gabunia.

Khatia Dekanoidze was a supporter of his transfer to a private clinic following his hunger strike in a Georgian prison, even meeting with Speaker Kakha Kuchava to negotiate a temporary pause in street protests in exchange for Saakashvili's transfer, although that request was denied and Saakashvili was transferred instead to a controversial detention facility in Gldani.

The end of the boycott was a contentious issue within UNM and was decided after a vote of its Political Council, with Khatia Dekanoidze favoring returning to full parliamentary work.

Khatia Dekanoidze voted against the GD-sponsored so-called "Deoligarchization Bill", a proposed law that would create restrictions on the political participation of wealthy individuals qualified as oligarchs, arguing that the bill was meant to target the opposition and purposely ignored the role of Bidzina Ivanishvili.

On 31 January 2023, Khatia Dekanoidze announced her resignation from the faction chairpersonship after UNM's new leader Levan Khabeishvili suggested the party would resign its parliamentary seats in exchange for the Georgian authorities to let imprisoned former President Saakashvili be transferred abroad for medical treatment.

Khatia Dekanoidze called Khabeishvili's statement populist and affirmed she had not been consulted on the issue.

Melia's arrest in connection with these events in February 2021 led Khatia Dekanoidze to accuse the Gharibashvili government of "deciding to turn into a Bolshevik regime".

Khatia Dekanoidze remained pessimistic about former PM Giorgi Gakharia's creation of an opposition party as he served as Minister of Internal Affairs during the events of Gavrilov Night.

Khatia Dekanoidze has often been critical of police brutality, notably calling for the arrest of police officers involved in the physical assault against a disabled minor in 2021.

Khatia Dekanoidze has both been opposed to strict regulations meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 and in favor of stronger vaccination campaigns.

Khatia Dekanoidze has criticized Prime Minister Gharibashvili for his perceived anti-vaccination sentiments after making statements on the inefficiency of some vaccines.

Khatia Dekanoidze has accused the Georgian government of secretly cooperating with Russia through its ties to Bidzina Ivanishvili, a Russia-affiliated oligarch and founder of GD, and has criticized statements by Prime Minister Gharibashvili against sanctions on Russia.

Khatia Dekanoidze co-sponsored a resolution that removed the credentials of the Russian delegation from PACE.

Khatia Dekanoidze is a proponent of economic policies meant to encourage foreign investments into Georgia.

Khatia Dekanoidze is opposed to any direct negotiations with the separatist governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, arguing that talks would only benefit Russia's interests.