Salome Zurabishvili becomes first female president of Georgia
Georgia has elected Salome Zurabishvili as its first female president in the concluded national election.
The 66-year-old French-born ex-diplomat who took up allegiance with her origins in Georgia to fully participate in the governance of the country was in the race with a close rival, Grigol Vashadze.
Ms Zurabishvili is the daughter of refugees who fled to France from Georgia in 1921 when Soviet forces annexed the country.
She took a career in the French foreign service and was appointed as an ambassador at Tbilisi, Georgia in 2003 where she endeared herself with the country. She eventually gave up her position and was appointed as the Foreign Minister of Georgia by the country’s president.
As Georgia conducted its final national presidential election before switching to parliamentary system of government, she ran for the office on the platform of the ruling Georgian Dream party and won with a wide margin of 59%. Grigol Vashadze followed behind with 40% of the votes.
Although a constitutional amendment that will soon come into effect will limit the presidential office to a ceremonial position, it is an enviable feat for Ms Zurabishvili to become the first female president of the country.
