Welcome to the IRI - Georgia website!

Georgia is a country of five million people situated on the eastern edge of the Black Sea and bordering southern Russia. Located along the historic Silk Road to the Orient, Georgia is a former Soviet republic that has a tumultuous history and a resilient and proud people with a distinct and rich culture and language.

Politically, Georgia is an extremely complex country with distinct regions and two territories that lie beyond the control of the central government of Tbilisi. The country has undergone immense political change recently - culminating in the peaceful "Rose Revolution" of November 2003 that swept former president Eduard Shevardnadze from power.

Georgia is an emerging democracy and has the most advanced civil society sector of any of the twelve countries that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Georgia has dynamic political parties that encompass the entire political spectrum - from pro-western parties with a desire to join NATO to Socialist and left-leaning parties who are more sympathetic to the days of the Soviet Union.

The current government in Georgia - led by President Mikheil Saakashvili and Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili - has made integration into the European Union and NATO a priority along with the fighting with unemployment. The government enjoys excellent relations with the United States.

IRI - Georgia has established this website to help the Georgian people learn more about the political processes and personalities that shape their government. Additionally, this site is intended to give non-Georgians more in-depth information about this nation's government and political and civil society entities.

This site is presented both in Georgian and in English. We hope that it will continue to be a valuable resource in the future for those interested in Georgian politics and government.

Andrea Keerbs
Country Director, IRI - Georgia

"Let us now begin a major effort to secure the best -- a crusade for freedom that will engage the faith and fortitude of the next generation. For the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own destiny." These words by President Ronald Reagan in a 1982 speech before the British Parliament were the inspiration that led to the establishment of the International Republican Institute (IRI).

In his historic speech, President Reagan set America on a course of assisting those who wanted freedom and democracy around the world. Quoting the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he stated "we must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings."

Congress responded to President Reagan's call in 1983 when it created the National Endowment for Democracy to support aspiring democrats worldwide. Four nonprofit, nonpartisan democracy institutes were formed to carry out this work - IRI, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), and the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS).

In its infancy, IRI focused on planting the seeds of democracy in Latin America. Since the end of the Cold War, IRI has broadened its reach to support democracy and freedom around the globe. IRI has conducted programs in more than 100 countries and is currently active in 69 countries.

IRI's board of directors is chaired by U.S. Senator John McCain and includes former Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former Presidential Envoy to Iraq L. Paul Bremer, III and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, current members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and individuals from the private sector with backgrounds in international relations, business and government.

IRI's president, Lorne Craner, assumed leadership on August 2, 2004. From 2001 to 2004, Craner served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Craner previously served as IRI's president from 1995 to 2001, during which he led IRI to new levels of achievement.

IRI - Georgia is the local affiliate of the International Republican Institute (IRI) based in Washington, DC. Our office in Tbilisi is currently comprised of five full-time staff members with academic and employment backgrounds that encompass such areas as law, history, political science, military science and engineering.

IRI - Georgia began its programming in 1998. Since then we have worked with all of the major Georgian political parties to enhance their competitiveness by assisting them with such issues as message development, message communication, research, fieldwork and building political networks. We work with the political parties through both private consultations and through our campaign academy system, in which we train political party operatives in a seminar setting.

IRI - Georgia also conducts Get Out The Vote (GOTV) programs to raise public awareness concerning upcoming elections, especially among youth voters. We have successfully completed six GOTV programs, which involve tactics such as radio and television public service announcements (PSA's), posters and promotional concerts.

IRI - Georgia also helps facilitate free and fair elections by training partisan election observers and instructing them in how to protect their party's interests by combating fraud. In addition, we work with other international NGO's to form nonpartisan election observation missions to help ensure a fair election process.

In addition, IRI - Georgia is also proud to work closely with Georgian youth organizations such as New Generation New Initiative (NGNI) on various projects and programs to assist the youth of Georgia with taking an active interest in the future of their country.