Ex-economy minister appointed first vice-president of national bank after controversies between president, gov’t

Natia Turnava, the former economy minister, will serve as an acting president of the country’s national bank after being appointed as the first vice president in the key bank by its board members on Thursday, following controversies between the president and the ruling party over the institution. 

 

The parliament earlier this month overrode the president’s veto on NBG and introduced the position of the first vice-president in the bank, who would perform as the president during the absence of the bank’s chairperson. 

 

President Salome Zourabichvili claimed the amendments could pose threats to the major bank’s independence, but the ruling party accused her of “violating an agreement” on presenting Lasha Khutsishvili, the finance minister, as the bank’s board member in exchange for not-overriding the veto, and adopted changes on June 13. 

 

The president’s administration said appointing Khutsishvili in the board, whom it said was professional, could affect the institution’s independence due to his affiliation with the current government. 

 

Turnava served as the minister from April 18, 2019 to February 9, 2022. When prime minister Irakli Garibashvili named Levan Davitashvili to replace Turnava in the post, the latter claimed she wished to try herself in another field, and in June 2022 was approved as a member of the NBG board by the country’s state legislature.