A French-born Georgian politician and diplomat who served as the first female President of Georgia, following a career spanning international diplomacy, national politics, and foreign affairs.
Born in Paris to Georgian political immigrants, her early career was spent in the French diplomatic service, holding senior posts in Paris, New York, Rome, Washington, N'Djamena, and Brussels, as well as serving as France’s Ambassador to Georgia. In 2004, she was appointed Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs by a joint decision of the French and Georgian presidents, advancing pro-Western policy, negotiating key NATO agreements and the EU-Georgia Action Plan, and brokering the withdrawal of Russian forces from occupied territories.
She subsequently founded and led the political party The Georgia’s Way, chaired the UN Security Council’s sanctions monitoring group on Iran, and served as an independent Member of Parliament. Elected President in 2018, she reaffirmed the country's commitment to EU and NATO integration, authored the Petra Declaration to coordinate European integration efforts with regional partners, and launched the Georgian Charter to unite pro-Western forces and advance the EU agenda.