David Gamkrelidze Politician, Leader of the "New Right" association Date of Birth: 02.04.1964 Country: Georgia

Biography of David Gamkrelidze

David Irakliyevich Gamkrelidze was born on April 2, 1964 in Tbilisi, Georgia. He completed his education at Tbilisi School No. 55 in 1981. In 1982, he enrolled at the Pediatric Faculty of the Tbilisi State Medical Institute and graduated in 1988, specializing in pediatrics. During his studies, he was a scholarship holder of the I. Tarkhnishvili Prize.

Gamkrelidze's political career began in 1989-1990 when he became the chairman of the Youth Christian Democratic Association of Georgia. In 1990, he founded and became the president of the insurance company "Aldagi", a position he held until 1999. At the same time, from 1998-1999, he was a deputy of the Tbilisi City Council - Sakrebulo.

In 1999, Gamkrelidze was elected as a member of the Georgian Parliament from the Union of Citizens of Georgia, which supported President Eduard Shevardnadze. In 2000, he became the leader of the parliamentary "New Faction", which split from the Union of Citizens of Georgia. In June of the same year, the faction formed the political alliance "New Rights". Gamkrelidze served as the co-chairman of this alliance, along with Levon Gachchiladze and Irakli Batiasvili.

In September 2000, Gamkrelidze also became the leader of the parliamentary faction "New Rights". In October 2002, he created and headed the non-governmental organization "Georgia in NATO". He also served as the representative of the Georgian Parliament in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

In June 2003, Gamkrelidze replaced Gachchiladze as the leader of the "New Rights". Although the party did not support the "Rose Revolution" - a bloodless state coup that led to the removal of Shevardnadze from power, they did support the actions of the new President Mikhail Saakashvili in overthrowing Aslan Abashidze in Adjara.

In the parliamentary elections in March 2004, the "New Rights" together with the "Industry Will Save Georgia" movement received 7.96 percent of the votes. Gamkrelidze became the leader of the "Opposition Right" faction in parliament and a member of the Defense and Security Committee. He was known to be in moderate opposition to Saakashvili.

In November 2007, Gamkrelidze refused to participate in the series of mass protests organized by the united opposition, demanding Saakashvili's resignation, early parliamentary elections, and the release of political prisoners. However, he condemned the dispersal of one of the protests by special forces on November 7. He announced his intention to participate in the presidential elections scheduled for January 5, 2008. He believed that his candidacy could take away some votes from the united opposition candidate, Gachchiladze.

On December 7, 2007, Gamkrelidze was officially registered as a candidate for the presidency. However, he only received 4.2 percent of the votes and finished fifth in the election. Saakashvili won in the first round with 53.47 percent of the votes.

Outside of politics, Gamkrelidze is a member of the board of directors of the Research Center "Partnership for Social Initiatives", the Association of Insurance of Georgia, and the Caucasus Business School. He is fluent in Georgian, Russian, and English.

Gamkrelidze is married to Marina Madich, a doctor and employee of the Center for Human Resource Management. They have two children: a son, Irakli, who is a student, and a daughter, Ninuka Gamkrelidze, who attends the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry French School in Tbilisi. Gamkrelidze enjoys playing tennis, swimming, skiing, and horseback riding.