The Parliament of Georgia approved Irakli Kobakhidze as the nation’s next Prime Minister, appointing him Head of Government while confirming his chosen cabinet members.
Kobakhidze’s appointment comes at a historic time, as Georgia achieved European Union membership candidate status in December following decades of economic growth and internal reforms. In his previous role as Chair of the Georgian Dream party (2021-2024), Kobakhidze pledged to fulfill the EU’s nine requirements for membership ascension, noting: “the fulfillment of all nine priorities will be ensured in order to move to the next stage – opening accession negotiations.” As Prime Minister, Kobakhidze remains committed to achieving this goal and further strengthening Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration. In his remarks at the Parliament, Kobakhidze emphasized the United States as Georgia’s main strategic partner and reaffirmed the commitment to enhancing cooperation across all key areas.
Kobakhidze underscored the peaceful restoration of the country’s territorial integrity and the “complete eradication” of poverty as the “two key national tasks” of the Government. To this end, the new Head of Government announced a bold agenda titled “For Building the European State” establishing four key goals of his leadership: 1)boosting defense and security cooperation with Europe and the United States; 2) increasing economic development and entrepreneurial activity; 3) enhancing healthcare and other social services, and; 4) decentralizing Georgia’s public administration system.
Irakli Kobakhidze is an experienced leader in Georgia’s government and a stalwart partner to the nation’s allies. As the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament (2016-2019), he oversaw the implementation of broad constitutional reforms that established Georgia’s parliamentary system, strengthened political and human rights, secured the independence of the judiciary and local self-government, and reaffirmed Georgia-NATO cooperation. Kobakhidze is a constitutional scholar who received PhD in law from the University of Dusseldorf in Germany.
Ambassador of the United States to Georgia Robin Dunnigan discussed the recent governmental changes, expressing her positive working relationship with Irakli Kobakhidze. Dunnigan emphasized their effective collaboration in Kobakhidze’s prior position as chairman of Georgian Dream. She expressed optimism for continued positive cooperation, while also extending well wishes to former Prime Minister Garibashvili and acknowledging his achievements during his tenure.
To continue building on the success of the previous government, Kobakhidze will retain all cabinet ministers except for Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, who stepped down to pursue service in another field. Deputy Chairperson of the Parliament Irakli Chikovani, who has long been a champion on strengthening Georgia’s partnership with the United States, will assume the role of Minister of Defense.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze and his cabinet took office immediately following the vote in Parliament.