A Georgian reformer became a deputy prosecutor general of Ukraine on Feb. 16 as part of a string of appointments drawing on the experience of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s team.
During Saakashvili’s presidency in 2004-2013, Georgia carried out radical reforms to reform its law enforcement agencies, crack down on corruption and deregulate the economy. As a result, the country has become one of the world’s least corrupt and economically freest nations, according to international rankings.
The new appointee, David Sakvarelidze, will oversee the reform of Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office and will be in charge of human resources and European integration, Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin said at a news briefing.
He was Tbilisi’s chief prosecutor and a deputy prosecutor general in 2008-2009 and Georgia’s first deputy prosecutor general in 2009-2012.
Sakvarelidze has earned the nickname “Commissar Cattani” for his presumably uncompromising stance on crime and corruption – a reference to a popular film character. In Georgia, he cracked down on both corrupt officials and the nation’s notorious organized crime community, known as “thieves-in-law.”
“I’m sure that David will help us defeat the Goliath of Ukrainian corruption quickly and efficiently,” Anton Gerashchenko, a parliamentarian representing the People’s Front party, wrote on Facebook. “… Not a single Ukrainian corrupt prosecutor used to bring suitcases (with cash) to Kyiv can hope to pass a job interview with David.”
Sakvarelidze holds a law degree from Tbilisi State University, a political science degree from St. Bonaventure University in New York State and a public administration degree from Japan’s Toyo University Itakura.
His appointment comes on the heels of President Petro Poroshenko’s decision on Feb. 13 to make Saakashvili a presidential adviser and head of the Advisory International Council for Reforms.
Both Sakvarelidze and Saakashvili have also previously been considered for the position of the head of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Georgians also spearhead reforms in other sectors.
In December, Ekaterina Zguladze-Glucksmann, who was first deputy interior minister in Georgia in 2005-2012, was appointed to the same post in Ukraine and will oversee the police reform and the creation of a new traffic police.
At the same time, Oleksandr Kvitashvili, who was Georgia’s healthcare, labor and social affairs minister in 2008-2010, became Ukraine’s healthcare minister to tackle a reform of the sector.
Kakha Bendukidze, the chief architect of Georgia’s economic reforms, became an adviser to Ukraine’s Cabinet in May 2014, and was subsequently considered for the position of economy minister but he died in November.
