Parliamentary Order of Freedom to be awarded posthumously to Zurab Zhvania

The late former Prime Minister of Georgia and ex-Chairman of the Parliament, Zurab Zhvania, is set to be honored posthumously with the Parliamentary Order of Freedom, as revealed by the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, on Monday. 

As the 60th anniversary of Zurab Zhvania’s birth approaches on December 9, a special celebration is planned within the parliament to commemorate this milestone, he said. 

Zhvania, who served in three parliamentary convocations, chaired the parliament for two convocations, and held the position of Prime Minister of Georgia, will be remembered for his “substantial contributions to the development of parliamentary practices in the country”, Papuashvili noted. 

Papuashvili emphasized Zhvania’s transformative impact on the parliamentary institution, stating, “he turned the parliament into an institution where legislative processes were systematized, and the supervisory functions of the parliament were strengthened.” 

Zhvania,42, and Kvemo Kartli governor Raul Usubov were found dead in unclear circumstances in a rented apartment in Tbilisi in February 2005.

His family claims Zhvania was killed on the instructions of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, while the official version is carbon poisoning.