Government of Georgia (country)

The Cabinet of Georgia is an executive council of government ministers in Georgia. It is headed by the Prime Minister of Georgia. In the cases of utmost importance, the meetings may be led by the President of Georgia . The first Cabinet of Georgia was formed by Noe Zhordania in the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918. However, the first head of government was Noe Ramishvili, Zhordania succeeding him. Until 24 January 2008 the cabinet consisted of four State Ministers and thirteen Ministers. After the re-election of President Mikheil Saakashvili significant changes were made to the structure of the cabinet by the then head of the Georgian Government Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze . As a result, currently there are five State Ministers and thirteen Ministers. In Georgian politics, a State Minister enjoys seniority over a Minister as opposed to the British Cabinet where a State Minister is below a Minister by rank. As a consequence of 2008 changes, several new positions, such as State Minister for European Integration and State Minister for Diasporas as well as State Minister for Reintegration were introduced. The position State Minister for Reforms was abolished. The Ministers of Defense and Internal Affairs as well as the Prosecutor General are not members of the cabinet as such and are subordinated to the President of Georgia.