History of Office
After Georgia formally seceded from the Soviet Union on April 9, 1991, the Supreme Council voted, on April 14, to create the post of executive President, and appointed Zviad Gamsakhurdia to the office pending the holding of direct elections. In the nationwide elections to this post, on May 26, 1991, Gamsakhurdia won a landslide victory, becoming the first President of the Republic of Georgia. Gamsakhurdia was ousted in a military coup d’etat in January 1992. He continued to function as a president-in-exile until his death in a failed attempt to regain power in December 1993. In the post-coup absence of legitimate power, a position of the Head of State was introduced for Georgia's new leader Eduard Shevardnadze on March 10, 1992. After the adoption of a new Constitution on August 24, 1995, the post of President was restored. Shevardnadze was elected to presidency on November 5, 1995, and reelected on April 9, 2000. He resigned under pressure of mass demonstrations known as Rose Revolution on November 23, 2003. After Nino Burjanadze’s brief tenure as an Acting President, Mikheil Saakashvili was elected on January 4, 2004. He did not serve his full first term, but voluntarily resigned to defuse tensions in the aftermath of the 2007 Georgian demonstrations and brought the presidential elections forward from the original date in autumn 2008. He was reelected on January 5, 2008.
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