New secretary for National Security Council

The President of Georgia has not yet named the new Secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, since the acting secretary Irine Imerlishvili was recently named by the President as a candidate for Constitutional Court judge, together with Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, who previously served as the President’s Parliamentary Secretary.

Georgian media outlets have speculated that either the current Deputy Secretary of Georgia’s National Council, Vano Matchavariani, or Georgia’s ex-Ambassador to NATO, Levan Dolidze, will take the position.

The National Security Council shall be set up to organize the military development and defence of the country. The President of Georgia is the head the National Security Council.

The National Security Council is an advisory body to the President of Georgia, and is empowered to consider issues determined by the Organic Law on National Security Council of Georgia to draft high political decisions.

It is hard to say what type of decision President Giorgi Margvelashvili will make.

Member of the Free Democrats opposition party and Georgia’s former Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Alex Petriashvili, says Dolidze would be an “excellent” candidate for the Secretary.

Vano Matchavariani, who is the brother of one of main figures of the previous ruling United National Movement, Mikheil Matchavariani, has already caused certain strain between Margvelashvili and the founder of the current ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanishvili, whose choice was Margvelashvili to be President, has many times criticized the President for appointing Matchavariani as his advisor in foreign affairs issues.

The President dismissed Matchavariani as his advisor, though he later appeared as part of the charity foundation of Georgia’s opera star Paata Burchuladze.

However, this year Margvelashvili returned Matchavariani to his team and appointed him as deputy Secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council.

It cannot be excluded that Matchavariani will be promoted further, as Margvelashvili refuses to cut professional ties with him despite the fact that he was one of causes of dispute with Ivanishvili and some other members of the current ruling team.