In 2013, Georgia finalized its first-ever peaceful change of power and transition to a parliamentary republic. The Georgian Dream-dominated government, which came to power after defeating, in October 2012, the United National Movement led by the outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili, promised more democratic reforms. The Georgian Dream candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili won the presidential election in October 2013 and the new constitution significantly reducing the authority of the president in favor of those of the prime minister and government came into effect. In November, the leader of the Georgian Dream, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili announced his withdrawal from politics as promised earlier, and the Parliament of Georgia approved his nominee, Irakli Garibashvili, as the country's new head of government.

The relations between the new cabinet with the outgoing President Saakashvili and his allies remained tense. The year saw controversies surrounding the detentions and trials on various charges of several members of the previous government and the UNM, including the ex-ministers Bacho Akhalaia and Ivane Merabishvili, and the incumbent mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, who was suspended by the court from his elected office. Human rights record was marred by the violence against anti-homophobia activists in May.

The new government repeatedly stressed their adherence to Georgia's pro-Western foreign policy course and intention to improve relations with Russia, which had fought a war with Georgia over breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008. Despite verbal overtures and meeting between Georgian and Russian diplomats, the relations between the two countries showed no significant improvement. Georgia protested against installment of barbwire fences by the Russian military along the South Ossetian demarcation line. In November, Georgia initialed an association agreement with the European Union and won praise from NATO for reforms.

Incumbents

National President: Mikheil Saakashvili (January 25, 2004 – November 17, 2013); Giorgi Margvelashvili (November 17, 2013 – present) Prime Minister: Bidzina Ivanishvili (October 25, 2012 – November 20, 2013), Irakli Garibashvili (November 20, 2013 – December 30, 2015) Chairperson of Parliament: David Usupashvili (October 21, 2012 – November 18, 2016)

Autonomous republics

Adjara Chairman of the Government: Archil Khabadze (since October 30, 2012) Chairman of the Supreme Council: Avtandil Beridze (since October 28, 2012)

Abkhazia Chairman of Government (-in-exile): Giorgi Baramia (June 15, 2009 – April 5, 2013); Vakhtang Kolbaia (acting; since April 8, 2013) Chairman of the Supreme Council (-in-exile): Elguja Gvazava (since March 20, 2009)

Disputed territories

Abkhazia President: Alexander Ankvab (since May 29, 2011) Vice President: Mikhail Logua (since September 26, 2011) Prime Minister: Leonid Lakerbaia (since September 27, 2011) Chairman of People's Assembly: Valeri Bganba (since April 3, 2012)

South Ossetia President: Leonid Tibilov (since April 19, 2012) Prime Minister: Rostislav Khugayev (since April 26, 2012) Chairman of Parliament: Stanislav Kochiev (since July 2, 2012)

Events

January January 1 — Georgia takes over the rotating presidency of the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, which brings together Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova.Kirtzkhalia, N. (January 2, 2013). Georgia takes up GUAM chairmanship. Trend News Agency. January 5 — The Tbilisi City Court sentences the former Minister of Justice Zurab Adeishvili to a pretrial detention in absentia, responding to the charges of "organizing inhuman treatment of inmates" filed by the Prosecutor's Office.Court Orders Pretrial Detention for Ex-Justice Minister In Absentia. Civil Georgia. January 6, 2013. January 13 — Nearly 200 people considered political prisoners by Georgia's new parliament are released under an amnesty.190 Georgian 'political' prisoners walk free. PoliceOne.com. January 13, 2013. January 23 — Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili relieves Defense Minister Irakli Alasania of his duties as Deputy Prime Minister, citing Alasania's "narrow-circle" discussion of his plans for the 2013 presidential election.Georgian Defense Minister Loses Deputy Prime Minister Post. RFE/RL. January 23, 2013.PM Speaks of Reasons Behind Demoting Alasania. Civil Georgia. January 24, 2013. January 23 – Ilia II, Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia, meets President of Russia Vladimir Putin in the presence of the Russian prelate Kirill I of Moscow in Moscow.Georgian Church Leader Meets Putin. Civil Georgia. January 23, 2013. January 24 — Georgia's Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has a brief conversation with his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, this being the first meeting between the Georgian and Russian heads of the governments after the war of 2008.Ivanishvili had brief conversation with Medvedev in Davos. News.az. January 24, 2013. January 24 — Armenian activist Vahagn Chakhalyan (under arrest since 2008) released from prison under amnesty law.

February February 7 — President Saakashvili's annual state of the nation address in the Parliament, scheduled for February 8, is postponed by the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority amid controversy over the Georgian Dream-initiated constitutional amendments to restrict presidential power. Saakashvili decides to deliver his speech from the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia.Georgian Police Detain Three Involved In Tbilisi Violence. RFE/RL. February 9, 2013. February 8 — Some 300-strong group of protesters physically assault members of President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement party outside the National Library, forcing the president to deliver his annual state of the nation address from the presidential palace.

March

March 4 — The meeting between President Saakashvili and Prime Minister Ivanishvili in Tbilisi for talks about their differences fail to bring tangible results.Meeting between leaders yields no results. The Messenger Online. March 6, 2013. March 4 — The Parliament of Georgia adopts a resolution, drafted jointly by the rivaling Georgian Dream and United National Movement factions, reiterating Georgia's commitment to its pro-Western foreign policy course.Parliament Adopts Bipartisan Resolution on Foreign Policy. Civil Georgia. March 7, 2013. March 21 — The Parliament of Georgia unanimously passes constitutional amendment stripping the president of his right to appoint the new government without Parliament's approval. In a preceding non-binding test vote President Saakashvili's allies in the parliament vote against the measure to prove the Georgian Dream majority do not have the 2/3 majority required to change the constitution on their own. The amendments are passed with the third and final reading on March 25, 2013.Georgian PM's allies curb presidential powers. Reuters. March 21, 2013.Constitutional Amendment Passed with Final Reading. Civil Georgia. March 25, 2013.

April April 19 — Over 10,000 people gather in downtown Tbilisi in support of President Saakashvili and his United National Movement in a first mass rally since the party's defeat at the October 2012 parliamentary elections.Thousands rally in Georgia for Saakashvili. AFP through Global Post. April 19, 2013. April 27 — The Georgian Dream candidates win all three vacant seats in the parliament of Georgia in the by-elections in three single-mandate constituencies in Nadzaladevi (Tbilisi), Baghdati, and Samtredia.GD Candidates Lead in MP By-Elections. Civil Georgia. April 28, 2013.

May

May 12 — First Deputy Interior Minister and member of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, Gela Khvedelidze, is arrested over charges of breach of privacy related to the case involving leaking of a secretly recorded threesome sex video, purportedly featuring one of his critics.First Deputy Interior Minister Arrested over Leaked Sex Video. Civil Georgia. May 12, 2013. May 13 — A Georgian ISAF contingent repels an insurgent attack on a Georgian base in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, in which three Georgians are killed and 27 wounded.Three Georgian Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Attack. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. May 13, 2013. May 17 — 2013 Tbilisi anti-homophobia rally protests: Some 30 people are injured when conservative protesters, including Orthodox priests, break through police lines and disrupt a planned anti-homophobia rally in downtown Tbilisi.Conservatives attack gay activists at rally in Tbilisi. BBC News. May 17, 2013.Mob Disrupts Gay Activist Rally in Georgia, 30 Injured. RIA Novosti. May 17, 2013. May 18 – Georgian performers, Sopho Gelovani and Nodiko Tatishvili, end up at 15th place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 final in Malmö, Sweden.Participants through the years: Georgia. Eurovision Song Contest. May 18, 2013. May 21 – Ivane Merabishvili, the United National Movement party secretary general and Georgia's former Prime Minister, and Zurab Tchiaberashvili, governor of Kakheti, are arrested in connection to investigation into alleged misspending of GEL 5.2 million public funds on their party activists during the 2012 election campaign, leading to accusations of political vendetta leveled by the United National Movement against the Ivanishvili government.Ex-PM Merabishvili, Ex-Healthcare Minister Tchiaberashvili Arrested. Civil Georgia. May 21, 2013.

June

June 5 – The Tbilisi Open Air festival, featuring the British hard rock band Deep Purple, is held at the Dinamo Arena stadium.2013 Tbilisi Open Air held. Georgian Public Broadcaster 1st Channel. June 6, 2013. June 6 – Seven Georgian servicemen are killed and nine wounded in an insurgent attack with a truck bomb on the ISAF base in Shir Ghazay, Afghanistan.Seven Georgian Soldiers Die in Afghan Truck Bomb Attack. Civil Georgia. June 6, 2013. June 7–16 – Tbilisi hosts the 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup. June 13 – The Interior Ministry of Georgia announces it has "thwarted an attempted terrorist act at its stage of preparation" and arrests two suspects, the "foreign citizens" Mikail Kadiev and Rizvan Omarov.Interior Ministry Says it 'Foiled Terror Plot'. Civil Georgia. June 13, 2013. June 27 – NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visits Tbilisi, expressing his concern over recent arrests of the former government officials and urging Ivanishvili's government to avoid selective justice.Antidze, Margarita (June 27, 2013). NATO warns Georgia against political persecution of ex-officials. Reuters.

July July 4 – The Georgian police seizes 116 kg heroin and arrests two foreign nationals in one of the country's biggest ever drug hauls.Georgian Police Say 116kg Heroin Seized. Civil Georgia. July 4, 2013. July 12 – Georgia and Vanuatu sign an agreement on establishing diplomatic and consular relations, ending the uncertainty over Vanuatu's recognition of breakaway Abkhazia.Georgia, Vanuatu Establish Diplomatic Ties . Civil Georgia. July 15, 2013. July 22 – The European Union and Georgia successfully conclude negotiations for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), as part of the Association Agreement between them.EU and Georgia conclude talks on Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. European Commission Press Release. July 22, 2013.

August August 26 – Tensions erupt in southern Samtskhe-Javakheti region as the government forcibly dismantles a minaret in the Muslim Georgian village of Chela, Adigeni Municipality, citing lack of proper building authorization.Bukia, Sofo (September 6, 2013). Toppled Minaret Provokes Passions in Georgia . Caucasus Reporting Service Issue 700. Institute for War & Peace Reporting. The minaret would be reinstalled after the permission has been granted by the municipality council in November 2013.Minaret Re-Erected in Chela. Civil Georgia. November 28, 2013.

September