Salome Zurabishvili სალომე ზურაბიშვილი |
|
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Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 20 March 2004 – 19 October 2005 |
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President | Mikheil Saakashvili |
Preceded by | Tedo Japaridze |
Succeeded by | Gela Bezhuashvili |
Iran Sanctions Committee | |
In office 11 November 2010 – 10 October 2013 |
|
Secretary General | Ban Ki-moon (UN) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Paris, France |
18 March 1952
Political party | The Way of Georgia |
Spouse(s) | Janri Kashia (1993) |
Alma mater |
Sciences Po Columbia University |
Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church |
Salome Zurabishvili (Georgian: სალომე ზურაბიშვილი) (born 18 March 1952) is a French-born Georgian politician, from 2004 to 2005 Foreign Minister of Georgia and a former diplomat in the French service. Currently she is the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts assisting the UN Security Council’s Iran Sanctions Committee.
Zurabishvili was born in Paris on 18 March 1952, into a family of Georgian political emigrants. She attended some of the most prestigious French schools, such as the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), and began a master's program at Columbia University in New York in the academic year of 1972-1973, taking courses with Zbigniew Brzezinski. She abandoned her studies and joined the French foreign service in 1974, becoming a career diplomat with jobs in Rome, the United Nations, Brussels, Washington, etc. The first time Zurabishvili visited Georgia was in 1986 during a break from her job at the French Embassy in Washington.
Salome Zurabishvili was Head of the Division of International and Strategic Issues of National Defence General Secretariat of France in 2001-2003. She was appointed the Ambassador of France to Georgia in 2003.
Mikhail Saakashvili President of Georgia nominated her as Foreign Minister in his new government and Zurabishvili was the first female to be appointed to this post in Georgia on 18 March 2004.