Nino Burdschanadse

Biography of Nino Burdschanadse

Date of Birth: 16.07.1964

Place of Birth. Education. Nino Burdschanadse was born in Kutaisi. In 1986, she graduated from the Law Faculty of Tbilisi State University, named after I. Javakhishvili. She holds a Doctorate in Law (in 1990, she defended her dissertation on 'Problems of International Organizations and International Maritime Law').

Career. From 1991 to 1994, she was a lecturer in the Department of International Law and International Relations at Tbilisi State University. She was also an advisor to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament.

From 1994 to 1995, she worked as a research fellow at the diplomatic laboratory.

From 1995 and for several terms, she was a member of the Georgian Parliament. First, she was the Deputy Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Issues, Law, and Legality, and then (1998-1999) the Chair of the Committee.

From 1999 to 2002, she was the initiator of the Committee for Parliamentary Cooperation between Georgia and the European Union.

In 2000-2001, she headed the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

From 2001 to 2008, Nino Burdschanadse was the President of the Georgian Parliament.

Twice, in November-January 2003-2004 and in November-January 2007-2008, she assumed the duties of the President of Georgia during presidential elections.

After resigning as an MP in May 2008, she headed the public organization 'Fund for Democratic Development'.

Leading politician of the 'Democratic Movement - United Georgia' party.

In October 2013, she participated in the presidential elections in Georgia, where she finished third, receiving just over 10% of the votes.

Views and Assessments. She was one of the initiators of the Georgian 'Rose Revolution' in 2003, which resulted in the removal of two Presidents of Georgia - Eduard Shevardnadze.

For several years, she was the spokesperson for Mikheil Saakashvili. She supported his candidacy in the 2004 elections.

In spring 2008, relations between the leading politicians of Georgia cooled during the extraordinary parliamentary elections. According to media reports, the government-aligned party 'United National Movement' refused to approve a whole group of candidates from the ranks of the parliamentary speaker that were close to Saakashvili, and Saakashvili was said to have supported this. Subsequently, according to one version, Burdschanadse refused to head the list of the UNM, and according to another version, she was not allowed to lead it. Shortly thereafter, she announced her intention to leave big politics, although not everyone believed it.

In Russia, Burdschanadse's actions were linked to purges within Saakashvili's entourage, indicating that Georgia was taking an authoritarian path. The Director of the International Institute for Political Expertise, Yevgeny Minchenko, noted: 'He (Saakashvili) will continue to try to concentrate power in his hands, gradually pushing aside politicians who aspire to a significant, independent role.'

After the military conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia in August 2008, Burdschanadse firmly condemned the president for the attack on Tskhinvali, exacerbating an already difficult situation. The former parliamentary speaker announced an investigation and Saakashvili's accountability for the war in South Ossetia and called for official Tbilisi to engage in dialogue with Moscow. This occurred despite Burdschanadse being a sharp critic of Kremlin policy in the Caucasus before August 2008, although she refrained from unscholarly and provocative remarks (unlike many other Georgian politicians, including Saakashvili himself).

Academic Work. She is the author of about 20 scientific works, published in Georgian, Russian, and English. These include monographs on the legal aspects of new types of intergovernmental organizations.

Family. Nino Burdschanadse is the wife of Badri Bidsadze, her husband was the head of the Department of Border Protection of Georgia. The family has two sons - Anzor and Rezo.

15.07.2022.