De facto president of occupied Abkhazia appoints new “prime minister”

The de facto president of occupied Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, has appointed former high-ranking official Vladimer Delba as the region’s new “prime minister.”

Delba served twice as acting “prime minister” in 2014, following the resignation of de facto president Alexander Ankvab, having previously held the position of “finance minister,” and in 2021, temporarily replacing Ankvab after he contracted COVID-19.

During Aslan Bzhania’s presidency, Delba again served as “finance minister.”

Until 2024, Ankvab held the position of “prime minister.” Following Aslan Bzhania’s resignation, Valeri Bganba took over as acting “prime minister.” However, after Badra Gunba’s victory in the second round of the so-called “presidential elections,” Bganba stepped down.

On April 2, 2025, Badr Gunba officially assumed office as the de facto president of Abkhazia.

Before the so called inauguration ceremony, Gunba hosted Sergey Kiriyenko, the first deputy head of Russia’s presidential administration, on the Sukhumi waterfront. A day earlier, Gunba and Kiriyenko visited the Russian 7th military base stationed in Abkhazia, along with a school and a sports complex under construction.