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Eduard Shevardnadze

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Eduard Shevardnadze
GCMG
ედუარდ შევარდნაძე
Shevardnadze in 1997
2nd President of Georgia
In office
26 November 1995 – 23 November 2003
Preceded byZviad Gamsakhurdia
Succeeded byNino Burjanadze (acting)
1st Chairman of the Georgian Parliament
In office
4 November 1992 – 26 November 1995
Preceded byParliament established;
Himself as Chairman of the State Council of Georgia
Succeeded byZurab Zhvania
Chairman of the State Council of Georgia
In office
10 March 1992 – 4 November 1992
Preceded byState Council established;
Military Council as interim head of state
Succeeded byState Council abolished;
Himself as Chairman of the Georgian Parliament
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union
In office
2 July 1985 – 20 December 1990
Appointed byMikhail Gorbachev
Premier
Preceded byAndrei Gromyko
Succeeded byAleksandr Bessmertnykh
In office
19 November 1991 – 26 December 1991
PremierIvan Silayev
Preceded byBoris Pankin (acting)
Succeeded byPosition abolished
First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party
In office
29 September 1972 – 6 July 1985
Preceded byVasil Mzhavanadze
Succeeded byJumber Patiashvili
Full member of the 26th and 27th Politburo
In office
1 July 1985 – 14 July 1990
Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR
In office
22 May 1965 – 1972
Preceded byOtar Kavtanadze
Succeeded byKonstantin Ketiladze
Personal details
Born(1928-01-25)25 January 1928
Mamati, Guria, Georgian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Georgia)
Died7 July 2014(2014-07-07) (aged 86)
Tbilisi, Georgia
Nationality
Political party
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1951; died 2004)​
ChildrenPaata
Manana
RelativesSophie Shevardnadze (granddaughter)
Awards(see § Honours and awards)
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Soviet Union
Branch/serviceMVD
Years of service1964–1972
Rank  Major general
Commands
  • Ministry of Public Order of the Georgian SSR (1965–1968)
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR (1968–1972)

Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze (Georgian: ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia for several non-consecutive periods from 1972 until his resignation in 2003 and also served as the final Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1990.

Shevardnadze started his political career in the late 1940s as a leading member of his local Komsomol organisation. He was later appointed its Second Secretary, then its First Secretary. His rise in the Georgian Soviet hierarchy continued until 1961 when he was demoted after he insulted a senior official. After spending two years in obscurity, Shevardnadze returned as a First Secretary of a Tbilisi city district, and was able to charge the Tbilisi First Secretary at the time with corruption. His anti-corruption work quickly garnered the interest of the Soviet government and Shevardnadze was appointed as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. He would later become the head of the internal affairs ministry and was able to charge First Secretary (leader of Soviet Georgia) Vasil Mzhavanadze with corruption.

He served as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party (GPC) from 1972 to 1985, which made him the de facto leader of Georgia. As First Secretary, Shevardnadze started several economic reforms, which would spur economic growth in the republic—an uncommon occurrence in the Soviet Union because the country was experiencing a nationwide economic stagnation. Shevardnadze's anti-corruption campaign continued until he resigned from his office as First Secretary.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served in this position, except for a brief interruption between 1990 and 1991, until the fall of the Soviet Union. During this time, only Gorbachev would outrank Shevardnadze in importance in Soviet foreign policy. Shevardnadze was responsible for many key decisions in Soviet foreign policy during the Gorbachev era, and was seen by the outside world as the face of Soviet reforms such as Perestroika.[1]

In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, Shevardnadze returned to the newly independent Republic of Georgia, after being asked to lead the country by the Military Council, which had recently deposed the country's first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. In 1992 Shevardnadze became the leader of Georgia (as Chairman of Parliament). He was formally elected as president in 1995. Under his rule, the peace treaty was signed in Sochi, which ended military hostilities in South Ossetia, although Georgia lost effective control over a large part of the territory. In August 1992 the war broke out in Abkhazia, which Georgia also lost. Shevardnadze also headed the government in the civil war in 1993 against pro-Gamsakhurdia forces, which did not recognize Shevardnadze as a legitimate leader and tried to regain power. Shevardnadze signed Georgia up to the Commonwealth of Independent States, in return receiving help from Russia to end the conflict, although Georgia also deepened its ties with the European Union and the United States. It joined the Council of Europe in 1999 and declared its intention to join NATO in 2002. Shevardnadze oversaw large-scale privatization and other political and economic changes. His rule was marked by rampant corruption and accusations of nepotism. Allegations of electoral fraud during the 2003 legislative election led to a series of public protests and demonstrations colloquially known as the Rose Revolution. Eventually, Shevardnadze agreed to resign. He later published his memoirs and lived in relative obscurity until he died in 2014.

Early life and career

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Eduard Shevardnadze was born on 25 January 1928, in Mamati in the Transcaucasian SFSR, which was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. His father Ambrose was a teacher and a devoted communist and party official. His mother had little respect for the communist government and opposed both Shevardnadze's and his father's party careers.[2] Eduard was a cousin of the Georgian painter and intellectual Dimitri Shevardnadze, who was purged under Joseph Stalin.[3] In 1937, during the Great Purge, his father was arrested but was later released because of the intervention of an NKVD officer who had been Ambrose's pupil.[4]

In 1948 at the age of twenty, Shevardnadze joined the Georgian Communist Party (GCP) and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). He rose steadily through the ranks of the Georgian Komsomol and after serving a term as Second Secretary, he became its First Secretary.[5] During his Komsomol First Secretaryship, Shevardnadze met Mikhail Gorbachev for his first time.[6] Shevardnadze said he grew disillusioned with the Soviet political system following Nikita Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" to the 20th CPSU Congress. Like many Soviet people, Shevardnadze was horrified by the crimes perpetrated by Joseph Stalin, and the Soviet government's response to the 1956 Georgian demonstrations shocked him even more.[7] He was demoted in 1961 by the Politburo of the Georgian Communist Party after offending a senior official.[5]

After his demotion Shevardnadze endured several years of obscurity before returning to attention as a First Secretary of a city district in Tbilisi.[8] Shevardnadze challenged Tbilisi First Secretary Otari Lolashvili, and later charged him with corruption. Shevardnadze left party work after his appointment as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR in 1964. It was his successful attempt at jailing Lolashvili, which got him promoted to the post of First Deputyship. In 1965, Shevardnadze was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. After initiating a successful anti-corruption campaign supported by the Soviet government, Shevardnadze was voted as Second Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party.[9] Shevardnadze's anti-corruption campaign increased public enmity against him.[10] However, these campaigns garnered the interest of the Soviet government,[11] and in turn, his promotion to the First Secretaryship after Vasil Mzhavanadze's resignation.[9]

In 1951, Shevardnadze married Nanuli Shevardnadze, whose father was killed by the authorities at the height of the purge. At first, Nanuli rejected Shevardnadze's marriage proposal, fearing that her family background would ruin Shevardnadze's party career. These fears were well justified; many other couples died for the same reason.[12] Between 25 July 1972 and 29 September 1972, Shevardnadze served the First secretary of the Tbilisi City Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia.[13]

First Secretary of the GCP (1972–85)

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Original CIA file on Shevardnadze, seized from the former United States Embassy in Tehran

Shevardnadze was appointed to the First Secretaryship of the Georgian Communist Party by the Soviet government; he was tasked with suppressing the grey and black-market capitalism that had grown under his predecessor Vasil Mzhavanadze's rule.[14]

Anti-corruption campaigns

[edit]

Shevardnadze's rapid rise in Soviet Georgia's political hierarchy was the result of his campaign against corruption.[9] Throughout most of Shevardnadze's leadership, anti-corruption campaigns were central to his authority and policy. By the time Shevardnadze had become leader, Georgia was the Soviet republic most afflicted by corruption. The rule of Vasil Mzhavanadze had been characterised by weak leadership, nepotism, despotism, and bribery pervading the upper echelons of power.[9] In Georgia, corruption had been allowed to thrive, leading to serious deformations in the system; for example only 68 per cent of Georgian goods were exported legally, while the percentage of goods exported legally from other Soviet Republics approached 100 per cent. Shevardnadze rallied support for his anti-corruption campaigns by establishing the Study of Public Opinion.[15] To combat corruption, he engaged in subterfuge; after halting all exports he dressed himself as a peasant and drove a car filled with tomatoes through the border.[16] After his personal subterfuge, the entire Georgian border police was purged. While never proven, it is said that after taking office, Shevardnadze asked all leading officials to show their left hands and ordered those who used Western-produced watches to replace them with Soviet ones. This story portrayed Shevardnadze as an active battler against corruption.[17] His campaign against corruption was largely unsuccessful and when he returned to Georgia in 1992, corruption was still a huge problem.[18]

Economic policy

[edit]

Under Shevardnadze's rule, Georgia was one of several Soviet Republics that did not experience economic stagnation, instead experiencing rapid economic growth. By 1974, industrial output had increased by 9.6 per cent and agricultural output had increased by 18 per cent. The shortage economy, which had evolved into a prevalent problem in other parts of the Soviet Union, had nearly disappeared in Georgia. Long food queues in Tbilisi had shortened while those in Moscow had lengthened. Some of Shevardnadze's economic policies were adopted nationally by the Soviet government.[19]

In 1973, Shevardnadze launched an agricultural reform in Abasha, popularly referred to as the "Abasha experiment". This reform was inspired by János Kádár's agricultural policy in Hungarian People's Republic, which returned agricultural decision-making to the local level of governance. Shevardnadze merged all Abasha agricultural institutions into a single entity and established a new remuneration system. If a farmer fulfilled the five-year plan early, he would be awarded a share of the crops. The policy had a positive effect on the Georgian economy and because of the large increase of agricultural output in Abasha, the reform was introduced elsewhere in the republic. The agricultural reform in Georgia became the model of the nationwide Agricultural-Industrial Organisations established by a decree in 1982.[20]

Shevardnadze took much of the credit for Georgia's economic performance under his rule. Seven months before his promotion to the Soviet Foreign Affairs Ministership, Shevardnadze said there were thirty or more economic experiments operating in Georgia, which he said would further democratise the economic management.[21]

Political experimentation and nationalism

[edit]

Shevardnadze was a strong supporter of political reform in the Georgian SSR. He created agencies attached to the Central Committee of the Georgian Communist Party whose main task was studying, analysing and moulding public opinion. These agencies worked closely with Georgia's communications networks and media; government ministers and Shevardnadze were regularly interviewed live on television.[17] Shevardnadze criticised flattery in Georgia and said he and his government's activities needed to be criticised more often, especially during party congresses.[22] He showed himself, even before Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power, to be a firm supporter of people's democracy—i.e. power from below.[23]

Previous Soviet Georgian rulers had given in to nationalist favouritism to the Georgians; Shevardnadze was against this policy of favouritism. Therefore, his nationalistic policy is considered controversial in Georgia.[24] At the 25th Congress of the Georgian Communist Party, Shevardnadze told the congress, "for Georgians, the sun rises not in the east, but in the north—in Russia".[25] Shevardnadze saw "extreme nationalism", coupled with corruption and inefficiencies within the system, as one of the main obstacles to economic growth. During his rule he condemned what he considered "national narrow-mindedness and isolation" and writers who published works with nationalistic overtones. The 1970s saw an increase in nationalistic tendencies in Georgian society. The 1978 Georgian demonstrations were sparked by the Soviet government's decision to amend the Georgian constitution and remove the Georgian language as the sole state language in the republic. While at first standing firm with the Soviet government, Shevardnadze quickly reiterated his position and was able to compromise with the Soviet government and the demonstrators. The Georgian language was kept as the sole official language of the republic and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union passed legislation calling for an increasing level of Russian language training in the non-Russian republics.[26]

There was another problem facing Shevardnadze during the 1978 demonstrations; some leading Abkhaz intellectuals were writing to Leonid Brezhnev in the hope that he would let the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic secede from Georgia and merge into the Russian SFSR. To halt this development, the Georgian government gave way to concessions made by the secessionists that included establishing an Abkhaz university, the expansion of Abkhaz publications and creating an Abkhaz television station. Shevardnadze proved to be an active supporter of defending minority interests.[27]

National politics and resignation

[edit]

At the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1976, Shevardnadze gave a speech in which he called general secretary Leonid Brezhnev "vozhd" (leader), a term previously reserved for Joseph Stalin. His adulation was only surpassed by that of Andrei Kirilenko and Heydar Aliyev. As Yegor Ligachev later said, Shevardnadze never contradicted a general secretary.[28] During Brezhnev's last days, Shevardnadze publicly endorsed Konstantin Chernenko's candidature for the General Secretaryship and called him a "great theoretician". However, when it became clear that the secretaryship would not go to Chernenko but to Yuri Andropov, Shevardnadze swiftly revised his position and gave his support to Andropov. Shevardnadze became the first Soviet republican head to offer his gratitude to the newly elected leader; in turn, Andropov quickly signalled his appreciation and his support for some of the reforms pioneered by Shevardnadze. According to Andropov's biographers the anti-corruption drive he launched was inspired by Shervardnadze's Georgian anti-corruption campaign. When Andropov died, Shevardnadze again became an avid supporter of Chernenko's candidature for the General Secretaryship.[29]

When Chernenko died, Shevardnadze became a strong supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership candidature.[30] Shevardnadze became a member of the Central Committee (CC) of the CPSU in 1976, and in 1978 was promoted to the rank of non-voting candidate member of the Soviet Political Bureau (Politburo).[31] His chance came in 1985, when the veteran Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko left that post for the largely ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (official head of state). The de facto leader, Communist Party general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, appointed Shevardnadze to replace Gromyko as Minister of Foreign Affairs, thus consolidating Gorbachev's circle of relatively young reformers.[6]

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (1985–91)

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Shevardnadze at the Reykjavik Summit with Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jack Matlock and George Shultz, 10 November 1986

Shevardnadze was a close ally of Gorbachev and was a strong advocate of the reform policies of glasnost and perestroika.[32] He subsequently played a key role in the détente that marked the end of the Cold War.[33][34] He negotiated nuclear arms treaties with the United States.[34] He helped end the war in Afghanistan,[33][34] allowed the reunification of Germany,[33] and withdrew Soviet forces from Eastern Europe and from the Chinese border.[34] He earned the nickname "The Silver Fox".[33]

During the late 1980s as the Soviet Union descended into crisis, Shevardnadze became increasingly unpopular and was in conflict with Soviet hard-liners who disliked his reforms and his soft line with the West.[35] He criticised a campaign by Soviet troops to put down an uprising in his native Georgia in 1989. In protest over the growing influence of hardliners under Gorbachev, Shevardnadze suddenly resigned in December 1990, saying, "Dictatorship is coming".[35] A few months later, his fears were partially realised when an unsuccessful coup by Communist hardliners precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union. Shevardnadze returned briefly as Soviet Foreign Minister in November 1991 but resigned with Gorbachev the following month, when the Soviet Union was formally dissolved.[35]

In 1991, Shevardnadze was baptized into the Georgian Orthodox Church.[36]

President of Georgia (1995–2003)

[edit]

Rise to power

[edit]

The newly independent Republic of Georgia elected as its first president a leader of the national liberation movement, Zviad Gamsakhurdia—an academic and writer who had been imprisoned by Shevardnadze's government in the late 1970s. However, Gamsakhurdia's rule ended abruptly in January 1992, when he was deposed in a bloody coup d'état.[33] Shevardnadze was appointed Speaker of the Georgian parliament in March 1992[37] and as speaker of parliament in November; both of these posts were equivalent to that of president. When the presidency was restored in November 1995, he was elected with 70% of the vote. He secured a second term in April 2000 in an election that was marred by widespread claims of vote-rigging.[35]

Rule

[edit]
Eduard Shevardnadze on a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan on 20 June 2000

Shevardnadze's career as Georgian President was in some respects more challenging than his earlier career as Soviet Foreign Minister. He faced many enemies, some dating back to his campaigns against corruption and nationalism during Soviet times. Like Gamsakhurdia, Shevardnadze had to deal with Russian-backed violent separatists in the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.[32] A Georgian Civil War between supporters of Gamsakhurdia and Shevardnadze broke out in western Georgia in 1993 but was ended by Russian intervention on Shevardnadze's side[35] and the death of ex-President Gamsakhurdia on 31 December 1993. Shevardnadze survived three assassination attempts in 1992, 1995, and 1998.[35] He escaped a car bomb in Abkhazia in 1992.[34] In July 1993, Shevardnadze narrowly escaped a shelling by Abkhaz separatists in Sukhumi.[38] In August 1995, he survived another car bomb attack outside the parliament building in Tbilisi.[39] In 1998, his motorcade was ambushed by 10 to 15 armed men; two bodyguards were killed.[34]

At the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Istanbul Summit of November 1999, agreement was reached that the Russian military bases in Georgia would all be evacuated by Russia before 1 July 2001.[40] However, Russian pullout from its military base in Abkhazia remained under question amid Russian backing of Abkhaz separatists against Georgia.[41] The tensions were further exacerbated when Russia accused Georgia of harbouring Chechen guerrillas on Georgia's northern border during the Second Chechen War.[35] More friction was caused by Shevardnadze's close relationship with the United States, which saw him as a counterbalance to Russian influence in the strategic Transcaucasus region. Under Shevardnadze's strongly pro-Western administration, Georgia became a major recipient of U.S. foreign and military aid, signed a strategic partnership with NATO[35] and officially declared an ambition to join NATO in 2002.[42]

At the same time, Georgia suffered badly from the effects of crime and rampant corruption, which were often perpetrated by well-connected officials and politicians. Although Shevardnadze himself was not personally corrupt and lived a fairly modest life, he was increasingly unwilling or unable to tackle corruption at the highest levels. All his closest advisers, including several members of his family, exerted disproportionate economic power and became visibly wealthy.[35] Transparency International's corruption index listed Georgia as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.[43]

According to Spanish prosecutor José Grinda González, Georgian mafia led by Dzhaba Iosselani during the 1990s took control of the country and state and then later led by Zakhariy Kalashov during Shevardnadze's rule.[44] Since April 2006, Khachidze or Lasha Shushanashvili also imparted influence on Georgia as well as Tariel Oniani from Kutaisi near South Abkazia.[44]

Downfall

[edit]
Banners on Parliament of Georgia saying: "Georgia without Shevardnadze", "Poti is with you"

On 2 November 2003, Georgia held a parliamentary election that was widely denounced as unfair by international election observers.[35] The outcome sparked fury among many Georgians, leading to mass demonstrations in Tbilisi and elsewhere, called the Rose Revolution. Protesters broke into parliament on 22 November as the first session of the new Parliament was beginning, forcing President Shevardnadze to escape with his bodyguards.[35] On 23 November, Shevardnadze met with the opposition leaders Mikheil Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania to discuss the situation in a meeting arranged by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.[35] After this meeting, Shevardnadze announced his resignation, declaring that he wished to avert a bloody power struggle "so all this can end peacefully and there is no bloodshed and no casualties".[45] Shevardnadze's resignation as President of Georgia was the end of his political career.[46]

Death and funeral

[edit]

Shevardnadze spent his last years living quietly at his mansion house in the outskirts of Tbilisi. As his health deteriorated, his involvement in public life became much reduced. After a long illness, he died at the age of 86 on 7 July 2014.[47][48]

Georgia's former president Giorgi Margvelashvili and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili extended condolences to his family members. Margvelashvili described him as "one of the distinguished politicians of the 20th century, who participated in dismantling of the Soviet system". He added, "He was also playing a serious role in creation of new Georgia and in development of our western course". Garibashvili said Shevardnadze's "contribution was especially important in establishing Georgia's geopolitical role in the modern world. Eduard Shevardnadze was a politician of international significance, who made a great contribution to end the Cold War and to establish new world order."[49] Former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who overthrew Shevardnadze in the 2003 Rose Revolution, offered condolences and said Shevardnadze was "a significant figure for the Soviet empire and for post-Soviet Georgia". Saakashvili said his government did not start a criminal prosecution against Shevardnadze, despite calls by some politicians and parts of society, out of "respect to the President's institution".[50]

Among others, Russian President Vladimir Putin[51] and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered condolences. Kerry credited Shevardnadze with playing "an instrumental role" in bringing about the end of the Cold War, a reduction of "the risk of nuclear confrontation" as the Soviet Union's Foreign Minister, ensuring "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Georgia] during the 1990s" as President of Georgia and putting the country "on its irreversible trajectory toward Euro-Atlantic integration".[52]

Shevardnadze was accorded a state funeral on 13 July 2014, which was attended by the Georgian political leaders and foreign dignitaries, including the former US Secretary of State James Baker and former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. After a service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, Shevardnadze was buried next to his late wife Nanuli Shevardnadze at the Krtsanisi residence in Tbilisi.[53]

Honours and awards

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Honours

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National honours

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 Soviet Union:

 Georgia:

Foreign honours

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Honorary degrees

[edit]

Awards

[edit]

I want to thank you for giving this award to President Shevardnadze. He has been a friend of the United States and a friend of ours. He has stood for democracy. You heard him tell the story tonight. He's like anybody who has converted; once he converted, he was really stuck as a true believer. He has endured assassination attempts, illegal coup attempts. He has been through ethnic difficulties in his own country. He has been through pressures from the outside and problems from the inside. He has watched the economy go down and things come apart and come back together again. But once he decided he believed [In Democracy], he stayed hitched, and he embodies something that I think we don't think about enough.
We talk a lot about what it takes to establish democracy. But once having established it, there are always people who will try to twist it to their own end, because we may eliminate communism from the world, but we have not eliminated lust for power or greed that leads to corruption or the hatreds and fears in the human heart that lead to the oppression of those who are different from us in race or religion or belong to some other minority group. This man has stayed the course when the price was high, and I thank you for awarding this to him tonight.[75][76][77]

—Bill Clinton, at the NDI Dinner in 1999

References

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  1. ^ "Eduard Shevardnadze obituary". The Guardian. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 8.
  3. ^ "ШЕВАРДНАДЗЕ: БЕРИЯ УБИЛ СТАЛИНА И РАССТРЕЛЯЛ ДВОЮРОДНОГО БРАТА МОЕГО ОТЦА". 22 March 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  4. ^ Suny, Ronald (1994). The Making of the Georgian Nation. Indiana University Press. pp. 328–329. ISBN 0-253-20915-3.
  5. ^ a b Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 10.
  6. ^ a b Hough 1997, p. 178.
  7. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 15–16.
  8. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 10–11.
  9. ^ a b c d Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 11.
  10. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 12.
  11. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 11–12.
  12. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 9.
  13. ^ "from 25 July, 1972, First Secretary of Tbilisi Party City Committee;". Archived from the original on 19 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Soviet Union: Southern Corruption". Time Magazine. 3 December 1973. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  15. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 19.
  16. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 19–20.
  17. ^ a b Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 20.
  18. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 26.
  19. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 17.
  20. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 18.
  21. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 18–19.
  22. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 20–21.
  23. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 21.
  24. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 22.
  25. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 22–23.
  26. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 23.
  27. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 24.
  28. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 13.
  29. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 14.
  30. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, pp. 14–15.
  31. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 31.
  32. ^ a b "Eduard Shevardnadze | Biography, Georgian President, & Assassination Attempt | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  33. ^ a b c d e "Eduard Shevardnadze: Controversial legacy to Georgia". BBC. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  34. ^ a b c d e f "Eduard Shevardnadze, Foreign Minister Under Gorbachev, Dies at 86". The New York Times. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Eduard Shevardnadze – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  36. ^ Kolstø, Pål. Political Construction Sites: Nation-Building in Russia and the Post-Soviet States, p. 70. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 2000.
  37. ^ "Eduard Shevardnadze obituary". The Guardian. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  38. ^ "Shevardnadze is nearly hit as shells rain down on capital". Deseret News. 9 July 1993. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  39. ^ "Eduard Shevardnadze obituary". The Guardian. No. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  40. ^ * OSCE Istanbul Document 1999 Archived 22 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ "Georgia: Russian Pullout From Base Under Question". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 30 July 2001. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  42. ^ Peuch, Jean-Christophe (22 November 2002). "Georgia: Shevardnadze Officially Requests Invitation To Join NATO". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  43. ^ "POSTSCRIPT: EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE, 1928–2014". The New Yorker. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  44. ^ a b José Grinda González. "REGULACIÓN NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL DEL CRIMEN ORGANIZADO. EXPERIENCIA DE LA FISCALÍA ANTICORRUPCIÓN" (PDF). Fiscales de la Fiscalía contra la Corrupción y la Criminalidad Organizada (in Spanish). p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  45. ^ "Georgian Leader Resigns Amid Peaceful Opposition Standoff". PBS. 24 November 2003. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  46. ^ "Eduard Shevardnadze: A Soviet-Georgian life of global importance". DW. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  47. ^ "Georgian ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze dies at 86". BBC News. 7 July 2014.
  48. ^ "Georgia's former president Eduard Shevardnadze dies aged 86". The Guardian. 7 July 2014.
  49. ^ "Georgian President, PM Extend Condolences over Shevardnadze's Death". Civil Georgia. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  50. ^ "Saakashvili Offers Condolences Over Shevardnadze's Death". Civil Georgia. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  51. ^ "Putin Sends Condolences to Georgia over Shevardnadze's Death". Civil Georgia. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  52. ^ "On the Passing of Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze" (Press Statement). U.S. State Department. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  53. ^ "Shevardnadze Laid to Rest in State Funeral". Civil Georgia. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  54. ^ a b c d "Georgian ex-president Eduard Shevardnadze dies at 86". TASS. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  55. ^ "თბილისის საპატიო მოქალაქეები" [Honorary citizens of Tbilisi] (in Georgian). Tbilisi City Hall. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  56. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Eduard Shevardnadze". president.gov.ge. The administration of the President of Georgia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  57. ^ "Указ Президента України № 1257/99 від 1 жовтня 1999 року "Про нагородження відзнакою Президента України "Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого""" (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  58. ^ "Dostluk İlişkilerine Katkının Altın Sembolü: Devlet ve Cumhuriyet Nişanları (Turkish) – The Gold Symbol Contribution of Friendly Relations : State and Republic Orders". Haberler.com. February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  59. ^ "Olympic Order Recipients". olympedia.org. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  60. ^ "HONORARY KNIGHTHOODS AWARDED 1997-2006" (DOC). Uk parliament. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  61. ^ "Gürcüstanın Prezidenti Eduard Amrosiyeviç Şevardnadzenin "İstiqlal" ordeni ilə təltif edilməsi haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN FƏRMANI" [Order of the President of Azerbaijan Republic on awarding President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze with Istiglal Order]. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  62. ^ "Выпуск № 208 (3300) | Народное слово". db.natlib.uz (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  63. ^ "History of honorary degrees". Harvard University. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  64. ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients 1981-2021" (pdf). Commencement Office of the Harvard University. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  65. ^ "Photographs and memories". The Harvard Gazette. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  66. ^ "Una vita da Eduard Shevardnadze". Il Post (in Italian). 7 July 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  67. ^ a b c "Eduard Shevardnadze" (in Spanish). Barcelona center for international affairs. 10 March 1992. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  68. ^ "Honorary Degrees". The Corporation of Brown University. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  69. ^ "Honorary degrees". Trieste University. 15 April 2024. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  70. ^ "Chronological Listing of Honorary Degree Recipients Emory University". Emory University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  71. ^ "Honorary Doctors". Baku State University. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  72. ^ "საპატიო დოქტორები - შევარდნაძე ედუარდ" [Honorary Doctors- Shevardnadze Eduard] (in Georgian). Tbilisi State University. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  73. ^ "Honorary Doctorates awarded by Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University since 1918" (PDF). Tbilisi State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  74. ^ "Honorary doctors of the faculties of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena since 1990". Friedrich Schiller University of Jena. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  75. ^ "Remarks at a National Democratic Institute for International Affairs Dinner" (PDF). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II) (PDF). Vol. II. Washington DC: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. 1999. pp. 1582–1583. ISBN 0-16-050286-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  76. ^ "1999 Public Papers 1582 - Remarks at a National Democratic Institute for International Affairs Dinner". govinfo.gov. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  77. ^ "ფრაგმენტი ბილ კლინტონის გამოსვლიდან. ვაშინგტონი, 1999" [Excerpt from Bill Clinton's speech. Washington, 1999] (video). YouTube (in Georgian). The Eduard Shevardnadze Center. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  78. ^ "Past Harriman Democracy Award Recipients". National Democratic Institute. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  79. ^ Gage, Eleni N. (24 September 1997). "A Philosophical Eye on Big Prizes". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  80. ^ "Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 97-09-16". Greek Press & Information Office. 16 September 1997. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  81. ^ "SHEVARDNADZE RECEIVES DEMOCRACY PRIZE IN ISRAEL". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  82. ^ "SHEVARDNADZE AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS ISRAELI PRIZE". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
Bibliography

Further reading

[edit]
  • Когда рухнул железный занавес. Встречи и воспоминания.Эдуард Шеварднадзе, экс-президент Грузии, бывший министр Иностранных дел СССР. Предисловие Александра Бессмертных. Translation from German to Russian. Russian license ("Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss", Peter W. Metzler Verlag, Duisburg 2007).
  • Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss - Begegnungen und Erinnerungen. Peter W. Metzler Verlag, Duisburg 2007 (German: revised, re-designed and expanded edition. Georgian "Pikri Tsarsulsa da Momawalze – Memuarebi", Tbilisi 2006). The German edition is the basis for all translations and editions. ISBN 978-3-936283-10-5
  • Kui raudne eesriie rebenes. Translation from German to Estonian. Estonian license ("Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss", Peter W. Metzler Verlag, Duisburg 2007). Olion, Tallinn, 2009. ISBN 978-9985-66-606-7
  • The Future Belongs To Freedom, by Edvard Shevardnadze, translated by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
  • Ostrovsky, Alexander (2011). Глупость или измена? Расследование гибели СССР. (Stupidity or treason? Investigation of the death of the USSR) Archived 30 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine М.: Форум, Крымский мост-9Д, 2011. – 864 с. ISBN 978-5-89747-068-6.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eduard Shevardnadze.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Eduard Shevardnadze.
Party political offices
Preceded by First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party
1972–1985 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union
1985–1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Boris Pankin (acting)
 Minister of External Relations of the Soviet Union
1991 		Succeeded by
None—position abolished
Preceded by President of Georgia
1995–2003 		Succeeded by

Template:Ficha de autoridad Eduard Amvrósiyevich Shevardnadze (Georgian: ედუარდ შევარდნაძე; Mamati, Región de Guria, RSS de Georgia, 25 de enero de 1928-Tiflis, Georgia, 7 de julio de 2014)[1] fue un político y diplomático georgiano que gobernó Georgia durante varios períodos no consecutivos desde 1972 hasta su renuncia en 2003 y también se desempeñó como el último Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores soviético de 1985 a 1990.

Ejerció las funciones de ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de la Unión Soviética bajo la presidencia de Mijaíl Gorbachov desde 1985 hasta la disolución de dicho país en 1991.[2] Tras la disolución de la Unión Soviética, fue Presidente de la República de Georgia desde 1995 hasta el 23 de noviembre de 2003, cuando dimitió debido a la creciente presión popular que siguió a las elecciones parlamentarias.

Biografía

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Primeros años

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Eduard Shevardnadze nació el 25 de enero de 1928 en Mamati, en la República Socialista Federativa Soviética de Transcaucasia, que era una república constituyente de la Unión Soviética. Su padre, Ambrose, era profesor y un devoto comunista y funcionario del partido. Su madre sentía poco respeto por el gobierno comunista y se oponía tanto a la carrera en el partido de Shevardnadze como a la de su padre.[3] Eduard era primo del pintor e intelectual georgiano Dimitri Shevardnadze, que fue purgado bajo el régimen de José Stalin.[4] En 1937, durante la Gran Purga, su padre fue detenido, pero más tarde fue puesto en libertad gracias a la intervención de un oficial del NKVD que había sido alumno de Ambrose.[5]

A los 20 años de edad se alistó al Partido Comunista de la RSS de Georgia y al Partido Comunista de la Unión Soviética (PCUS) en 1948, después de ser instructor del Komsomol durante dos años. No dejó de ascender en el Komsomol georgiano y, tras un mandato como segundo secretario, se convirtió en primer secretario.[6] Durante su primer mandato en el Komsomol, Shevardnadze conoció por primera vez a Mijaíl Gorbachov.[7]

En 1951, se casó con Nanuli Shevardnadze, cuyo padre fue asesinado por las autoridades en plena purga. Al principio, Nanuli rechazó la propuesta de matrimonio de Shevardnadze, temiendo que sus antecedentes familiares arruinaran la carrera de Shevardnadze en el partido. Estos temores estaban bien justificados; muchas otras parejas murieron por el mismo motivo. Shevardnadze declaró que se desilusionó con el sistema político soviético tras el Discurso secreto de Nikita Jruschov en el XX Congreso del PCUS de 1956. Como a muchos soviéticos, a Shevardnadze le horrorizaban los crímenes perpetrados por José Stalin, y la respuesta del gobierno soviético a las protestas en Georgia de 1956 le escandalizó aún más.[8]

En 1961 fue degradado por el Politburó del Partido Comunista Georgiano tras ofender a un alto cargo. Tras su degradación, Shevardnadze pasó varios años en la oscuridad antes de volver a llamar la atención como Primer Secretario de un distrito de la ciudad de Tiflis. Desafió al Primer Secretario de Tiflis, Otari Lolashvili, y más tarde le acusó de corrupción.[9]

En la Unión Soviética

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Entrada al gobierno de Georgia

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Abandonó el trabajo en el partido tras su nombramiento como Primer Adjunto del Ministerio de Orden Público de la RSS de Georgia en 1964. El éxito de su intento de encarcelar a Lolashvili le valió el ascenso al cargo de Ministro de Orden Público de la RSS de Georgia en 1965. Tras iniciar una exitosa campaña anticorrupción apoyada por el gobierno soviético, Shevardnadze fue elegido Segundo Secretario del Partido Comunista de Georgia.

Se ganó una buena reputación por su fuerte rechazo a la corrupción, que era alarmante en la República, despidiendo y encarcelando a cientos de agentes. Uno de los casos más conocidos fue cuando obligó a varios oficiales prominentes a mostrar sus relojes, descubriendo que la mayoría provenían del mercado negro. Ordenó el decomiso de todos aquellos que estaban bajo sospecha de haber sido adquiridos ilícitamente. A pesar de sus esfuerzos, la corrupción siguió siendo un problema en la vida política georgiana.

En 1968 fue nombrado Ministro de Asuntos Internos de la RSS de Georgia (con el rango de General de Policía). Entre el 25 de julio de 1972 y el 29 de septiembre de 1972, Shevardnadze ocupó el cargo de Primer Secretario del Comité de la ciudad de Tiflis del Partido Comunista de Georgia. Un escándalo de corrupción en 1972 provocó la renuncia de Vasili Mzhavanadze, secretario general del Partido Comunista de Georgia. Su caída significó el ascenso de Shevardnadze, dado que Moscú lo veía como el candidato más apropiado para ocupar el puesto. Ya en el cargo, durante su tiempo como secretario general de los comunistas georgianos continuó atacando firmemente la corrupción y la disidencia.

En 1977, como parte de una campaña en toda la Unión Soviética, su gobierno arrestó a líderes prominentes de la disidencia georgiana bajo la excusa de "actividades antisoviéticas". Entre los arrestados se encontraban Merab Kostava y Zviad Gamsajurdia, quien luego se convertiría en el primer Presidente de Georgia elegido por sufragio popular.

Su línea dura ante la corrupción captó la atención de la directiva soviética. Entró a formar parte del Comité Central del PCUS en 1976, y en 1978 fue ascendido a candidato miembro (sin derecho a voto) del Politburó del Comité Central.

En 1980, se vio obligado a reiterar que el desarrollo económico y social dependían de "una lucha sin cuartel hacia aquellos fenómenos tan negativos como el soborno, el hurto de propiedades al Partido, tendencias a la propiedad privada, robo y toda aquella desviación de las normas morales del socialismo."

Aunque durante algunos años permaneció en segundo plano, fue consolidando su reputación por su austeridad personal: descartando los beneficios de tan alto cargo, prefería viajar en transporte público antes que usar las limusinas que se facilitaban a los miembros del Politburó.

Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de la Unión Soviética (1985-91)

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Sus aspiraciones se vieron cumplidas en 1985, cuando el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores soviético, Andréi Gromyko, renunció a su cargo. El flamante secretario general del PCUS Mijaíl Gorbachov lo propuso y logró su confirmación para el puesto. De esta manera se consolidaba el círculo de jóvenes reformistas que gobernaría la Unión Soviética hasta su disolución final en 1991.

Shevardnadze fue un estrecho aliado de Gorbachov, un firme defensor y como ministro de Asuntos Exteriores soviético uno de los publicistas en el mundo de las políticas de reforma de la glasnost y la perestroika. Desempeñó un papel clave en la distensión que marcó el final de la Guerra Fría. Negoció tratados de desarme nuclear con Estados Unidos. Ayudó a poner fin a la guerra de Afganistán, permitió la reunificación alemana, consiguió que desde la Unión Soviética se respetara la opción popular de acabar con los regímenes comunistas del Bloque del Este y negoció el acuerdo fronterizo sino-soviético de 1991 para el retiró las fuerzas soviéticas de la frontera China. Se ganó el apodo de "El Zorro Plateado".

A finales de la década de 1980, a medida que la Unión Soviética entraba en crisis, Shevardnadze se hizo cada vez más impopular y entró en conflicto con los partidarios de la línea dura soviética, a quienes no gustaban sus reformas y su línea blanda con Occidente. Criticó una campaña de las tropas soviéticas para sofocar un levantamiento en Georgia en 1989. En protesta por la creciente influencia de los partidarios de la línea dura bajo el gobierno de Gorbachov, Shevardnadze dimitió repentinamente en diciembre de 1990, declarando: "Se acerca la dictadura". Sabedor de que su futuro político en la Unión Soviética era escaso, decidió volverse hacia la política local en su nativa Georgia, que se encaminaba hacia la independencia.

Unos meses más tarde, sus temores se hicieron parcialmente realidad cuando un golpe de Estado fallido contra Gorbachov en agosto de 1991 de los partidarios de la línea dura comunista precipitó el colapso de la Unión Soviética. Shevardnadze se alineó con Gorbachov y regresó brevemente como Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores soviético en noviembre de 1991, pero dimitió al mes siguiente, cuando se disolvió formalmente la Unión Soviética.

En 1991, Shevardnadze fue bautizado en la Iglesia Ortodoxa Georgiana.

Presidente de Georgia (1995-2003)

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Ascenso al poder

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La recién independizada República de Georgia eligió como primer presidente a un líder del movimiento de liberación nacional, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, científico y escritor que había sido encarcelado por el gobierno de Shevardnadze a finales de los años setenta. Sin embargo, el gobierno de Gamsakhurdia terminó abruptamente en enero de 1992, cuando fue depuesto en un sangriento golpe de Estado. Shevardnadze fue nombrado Presidente del Parlamento de Georgia en marzo de 1992 y Presidente del Parlamento en noviembre; ambos cargos equivalentes al de Presidente. Cuando se restableció la presidencia en noviembre de 1995, fue elegido con el 70% de los votos. Obtuvo un segundo mandato en abril de 2000, en unas elecciones que se vieron empañadas por denuncias generalizadas de fraude electoral.

Gobierno

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La carrera de Shevardnadze como Presidente de Georgia fue en algunos aspectos más difícil que su anterior carrera como Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores soviético. Se enfrentó a muchos enemigos, algunos de los cuales se remontaban a sus campañas contra la corrupción y el nacionalismo durante la época soviética. En 1993 estalló una guerra civil entre los partidarios de Gamsakhurdia y Shevardnadze en el oeste de Georgia, a la que puso fin la intervención rusa del lado de Shevardnadze y la muerte del expresidente Gamsakhurdia el 31 de diciembre de 1993. Shevardnadze sobrevivió a tres intentos de asesinato en 1992, 1995 y 1998. Escapó a un atentado con coche bomba en Abjasia en 1992. En agosto de 1995, sobrevivió a otro atentado con coche bomba frente al edificio del Parlamento en Tiflis. En 1998, su comitiva sufrió una emboscada de entre 10 y 15 hombres armados; murieron dos guardaespaldas.

Shevardnadze también se enfrentó a conflictos separatistas en las regiones de Osetia del Sur y Abjasia. La guerra en la república rusa de Chechenia, en la frontera norte de Georgia, provocó considerables fricciones con Rusia, que acusó a Shevardnadze de dar cobijo a guerrilleros chechenos y, en aparente represalia, apoyó a los separatistas georgianos. Otras fricciones se debieron a la estrecha relación de Shevardnadze con Estados Unidos, que lo veía como un contrapeso a la influencia rusa en la estratégica región del Transcáucaso. Bajo la administración de Shevardnadze, fuertemente prooccidental, Georgia se convirtió en uno de los principales receptores de ayuda exterior y militar estadounidense, firmó una asociación estratégica con la OTAN y declaró su ambición de ingresar tanto en la OTAN como en la Unión Europea.

Al mismo tiempo, Georgia sufría gravemente los efectos de la delincuencia y la corrupción rampante, a menudo perpetradas por funcionarios y políticos bien relacionados. Aunque el propio Shevardnadze no era personalmente corrupto y llevaba una vida bastante modesta, cada vez se mostraba menos dispuesto o incapaz de atajar la corrupción en las altas esferas. Todos sus asesores más cercanos, incluidos varios miembros de su familia, ejercieron un poder económico desproporcionado y se enriquecieron visiblemente]. El índice de corrupción de Transparencia Internacional sitúa a Georgia como uno de los países más corruptos del mundo.

Según el fiscal español José Grinda González, la mafia georgiana liderada por Dzhaba Iosselani durante la década de 1990 se hizo con el control del país y del Estado, y más tarde la dirigió Zakhariy Kalashov durante el gobierno de Shevardnadze. Desde abril de 2006, Khachidze o Lasha Shushanashvilial también ejercen influencia en Georgia, así como Tariel Oniani, de Kutaisi, cerca de Abjasia del Sur.

Caída

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El 2 de noviembre de 2003, Georgia celebró unas elecciones parlamentarias que los observadores internacionales tacharon de injustas[35]. El resultado provocó la ira de muchos georgianos, lo que dio lugar a manifestaciones masivas en Tiflis y otros lugares, denominadas la Revolución de las Rosas. Los manifestantes irrumpieron en el Parlamento el 22 de noviembre, cuando comenzaba la primera sesión del nuevo Parlamento, lo que obligó al Presidente Shevardnadze a escapar con sus guardaespaldas. El 23 de noviembre, Shevardnadze se reunió con los líderes de la oposición Mikheil Saakashvili y Zurab Zhvania para discutir la situación en un encuentro organizado por el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores ruso Igor Ivanov. Tras esta reunión, Shevardnadze anunció su dimisión, declarando que deseaba evitar una lucha sangrienta por el poder "para que todo esto termine pacíficamente y no haya derramamiento de sangre ni víctimas". La dimisión de Shevardnadze como Presidente de Georgia fue el final de su carrera política.

Muerte y funeral

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Shevardnadze pasó sus últimos años viviendo tranquilamente en su mansión de las afueras de Tiflis. A medida que su salud se deterioraba, su participación en la vida pública se redujo mucho. Tras una larga enfermedad, falleció a la edad de 86 años el 7 de julio de 2014.

El expresidente de Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili y el primer ministro Irakli Garibashvili dieron el pésame a sus familiares. Margvelashvili lo describió como "uno de los políticos distinguidos del siglo XX, que participó en el desmantelamiento del sistema soviético". Y añadió: "También desempeñó un importante papel en la creación de la nueva Georgia y en el desarrollo de nuestro rumbo occidental". Garibashvili afirmó que la "contribución de Shevardnadze fue especialmente importante en el establecimiento del papel geopolítico de Georgia en el mundo moderno". Eduard Shevardnadze fue un político de relevancia internacional, que contribuyó en gran medida a poner fin a la Guerra Fría y a establecer un nuevo orden mundial". El expresidente Mikheil Saakashvili, que derrocó a Shevardnadze en la Revolución de las Rosas de 2003, presentó sus condolencias y afirmó que Shevardnadze fue "una figura significativa para el imperio soviético y para la Georgia postsoviética". Saakashvili declaró que su gobierno no inició un proceso penal contra Shevardnadze, a pesar de las peticiones de algunos políticos y sectores de la sociedad, por "respeto a la institución del Presidente"[46].

Entre otros, el presidente ruso Vladímir Putin y el Secretario de Estado estadounidense John Kerry ofrecieron sus condolencias. Kerry atribuyó a Shevardnadze haber desempeñado "un papel decisivo" en el final de la Guerra Fría, en la reducción del "riesgo de confrontación nuclear" como Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de la Unión Soviética, en garantizar "la soberanía y la integridad territorial de [Georgia] durante la década de 1990" como Presidente de Georgia y en situar al país "en su trayectoria irreversible hacia la integración euroatlántica".

Shevardnadze recibió un funeral de Estado el 13 de julio de 2014, al que asistieron dirigentes políticos georgianos y dignatarios extranjeros, entre ellos el ex Secretario de Estado estadounidense James Baker y el exministro de Asuntos Exteriores alemán Hans-Dietrich Genscher. Tras un servicio religioso en la Catedral de la Santísima Trinidad de Tiflis, Shevardnadze fue enterrado junto a su difunta esposa Nanuli Shevardnadze en la residencia Krtsanisi de Tiflis.

Libros

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  • Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss - Begegnungen und Erinnerungen. Metzler, Peter W., Duisburg 2007, [Aktualisierte, neu konzipierte und ergänzte Ausgabe von Pikri Tsarsulsa da Momawalze - Memuarebi] Die deutsche Ausgabe ist Grundlage für alle Übersetzungen und Ausgaben außerhalb der georgischen Sprache. ISBN 978-3-936283-10-5
  • Когда рухнул железный занавес. Встречи и воспоминания.Эдуард Шеварднадзе, экс-президент Грузии, бывший министр Иностранных дел СССР. Предисловие Александра Бессмертных. Übersetzung aus der deutschen in die russische Sprache. Russische Lizenzausgabe von "Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss"; Grundlage der russischen Ausgabe ist die deutsche Ausgabe. М.: Издательство "Европа", 2009, 428 с. ISBN 978-5-9739-0188-2
  • Kui raudne eesriie rebenes. Übersetzung aus der deutschen in die estnische Sprache. Estnische Lizenzausgabe von "Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss"; Grundlage der estnischen Ausgabe ist die deutsche Ausgabe. Olion, Tallinn, 2009. ISBN 978-9985-66-606-7

Template:Sucesión

Referencias

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  1. ^ "Fallece Shevardnadze, expresidente de Georgia y ministro con Gorbachov". El País. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Eduard Shevardnadze obituary". The Guardian. 7 July 2014. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 July 2024. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |apellidos= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 8
  4. ^ "SHEVARDNADZE: BERIA MATÓ A STALIN Y DISPARÓ AL PRIMO DE MI PADRE". web.archive.org. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  5. ^ The Making of the Georgian Nation, Second Edition. Indiana University Press. 22 October 1994. Retrieved 5 July 2024. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |apellidos= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 10.
  7. ^ Hough 1997, p. 178.
  8. ^ "Eduard Shevardnadze. El Presidente de Georgia en 1995-2003". web.archive.org. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  9. ^ Ekedahl and Goodman 2001, p. 11.

Enlaces externos

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eduard Shevardnadze.

 Newfoundland Categoría:Políticos de la Unión Soviética Categoría:Presidentes de Georgia Categoría:Primeros ministros de Georgia Categoría:Políticos de Georgia del siglo XX Categoría:Héroe del Trabajo Socialista Categoría:Personas de Tiflis Categoría:Miembros de la Orden del Mérito de la República Federal de Alemania Categoría:Orden del Príncipe Yaroslav el Sabio Categoría:Doctores honorarios de la Universidad de Harvard Categoría:Cristianos ortodoxos de Georgia Categoría:Fallecidos en Tiflis Categoría:Miembros del Partido Comunista de la Unión Soviética Categoría:Primeros Secretarios del Partido Comunista de la RSS de Georgia Categoría:Políticos de Georgia del siglo XXI Categoría:Galardonados con la Orden de la Bandera Roja del Trabajo Categoría:Presidentes del Parlamento de Georgia

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