Georgian diplomat, publicist, writer, teacher and TV host Gela Charkviani has died at the age of 82, family has confirmed earlier today.

Charkviani started his career in Georgian television as a TV host from 1976 to 1994. From 1984 to 1992 he was the Vice-President of Cultural Relations of Georgia. 

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Charkviani was involved in establishing close ties between the United States and the government of Georgia. 

Charkviani helped American storyteller Loralee Cooley collect Georgian fairy tales during her visit to Tbilisi in November 1989. 

Later, in the early 1990s, he traveled with a group of Georgian actors to Atlanta, where a traditional Georgian event, Tbilisoba, was organized for Georgians living in the United States.From 1992 to 2003, Charkviani was an adviser to President Eduard Shevardnadze on foreign policy issues. 

In 2005 he was the representative of Georgia in Great Britain and Ireland and then an ambassador. He completed his career in diplomacy in September 2011.