Davit Gamkrelidze
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Davit Gamkrelidze (born April 2, 1964) is a Georgian politician and the current leader of the New Right, part of the Rightist Opposition alliance. Gamkrelidze has a wife and two children and speaks Georgian, Russian and English.
As the independence movement gained significant momentum in 1988, Gamkrelidze, along with a group of friends, established the Christian-Democratic Association, which later was renamed into the Christian-Democratic Union. As a part of this the future opposition leader took an active part in the infamous March-April 1989 protest demonstrations against the Soviet Army. In the aftermath of the tragic events of April 9, several organizations were established, including the Rustaveli Society, of which Davit Gamkrelidze became a member.
During the spring of 1989, Gamkrelidze joined the National Forum, a group with the purpose of coordinating the National Liberation Movement. The participants of the organisation included Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who would later become President.
After the collapse of the Communist regime in 1990 and Georgia’s eventual independence, David Gamkrelidze concluded that he had exhausted his function in the National Liberation Movement and decided to leave politics. Gamkrelidze decided in favour of business, establishing the first insurance company in Georgia, Aldagi and becoming one of the ten most successful business men in Georgia by 1999.
After an 8 year break, the future leader of the New Right's, was elected a member of the Tbilisi City Council later becoming an MP for the then ruling party, the Citizens’ Union of Georgia. However within a year, Gamkrelidze began to distance himself from the ruling party, eventually resigning from its Parliamentary group over a budget deficit. In 2000 a special commission was formed, and, with Davit Gamkrelidze as chairman, successfully managed to investigate the issue. This led 35 professionals to establish a public organization - the 'New Movement' later becoming the 'New Faction' Group in Parliament.
On June 15, 2001 a new party linking the New Faction, New Movement and Neo-Conservatives, was created. The party became known as the present day New Rights of Georgia and its founding congress elected Davit Gamkrelidze as its co-chairman.
Within a year the New Rights had won first place in the local elections of Georgia, placing third in Tbilisi. Yet the results of the parliamentary elections of November 2, 2003, which were largely rigged, place new momentum behind younger charismatic leaders such as Mikheil Saakashvili. From the so-called non-revolutionary parties, only the New Rights were able to overcome the 7-percent barrier - uniting with another party of center-right orientation, the Industrialists. David Gamkrelidze was able to become a member of Parliament for a second time, and is currently a member of the Defense and Security Committee as well as member of the Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
