Eduard Shevardnadze was elected president of Georgia on 5 November 1995. Previously, he was chairman of the Georgian parliament and head of state of the Republic of Georgia. From 1985-90, he served as Soviet foreign minister. He has also served as the foreign political leader of the Movement for Democratic Reform.

He graduated from the School of the Communist Party Central Committee and holds a degree in history and political science from the Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from Harvard and Emory universities, among others.

Since his youth, President Shevardnadze has been actively involved in many social and political activities. He was the leader of Georgia's Komsomol organization, leader of Mtskheta District and Pervomaisky District Communist Party Committees, minister of public order of Georgia from 1965-68; minister of internal affairs of Georgia from 1968-72, and first secretary of the Georgia's Communist Party Central Committee from 1972-85.

President Shevardnadze has received numerous awards and titles, including Honorary Academician of the Gelati Academy of Sciences (Georgia) and the Emanuel Kant Prize (Germany, 1993) and the Richard M. Nixon Prize (USA, 1997). He is the author of many books including the monograph "My Choice."