Mikheil Kavelashvili, a Georgian ex-footballer turned far-right politician, is set to become Tbilisi’s next figurehead president in an indirect election called “illegitimate” by the present pro-EU leader.
He is anticipated to be elected by an electoral college controlled by Georgian Dream, which removed the use of popular voting to elect the president as part of controversial constitutional revisions implemented in 2017.
Kavelashvili’s appointment comes at a critical time, as thousands of anti-government demonstrators have descended on Tbilisi in recent weeks, enraged by Georgian Dream’s decision to suspend EU accession discussions.
The former football player criticized the West for wanting “as many people as possible (to be) neutral and tolerant toward the LGBTQ ideology, which supposedly defends the weak but is, in fact, an act against humanity.”
Kavelashvili, born in the tiny southwestern village of Bolnisi in 1971, began his professional football career in the 1980s, playing for teams in Georgia and Russia before becoming a striker for his country’s national team.
The 53-year-old played for Manchester City from 1995 to 1997, scoring on his debut against fierce crosstown rivals Manchester United.
He subsequently moved to Swiss club Grasshoppers, where he spent the majority of his time on the bench, before playing for Zurich, Luzern, Sion, Aarau, and Basel.
Kavelashvili was banned from running for president of the Georgian Football Federation in 2015 owing to a lack of higher education, which is required for the position.
He has been an MP for Georgian Dream since 2016 and was elected to the legislature on the party’s ticket in the October 2024 elections.
