Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili (Georgian: მიხეილ სააკაშვილი, IPA: [mɪχɛɪl sɑɑkʼɑʃvɪlɪ]; Ukrainian: Міхеїл Саакашвілі; born 21 December 1967) is a Ukrainian and formerGeorgian politician. He is the current Governor of Ukraine's Odessa Oblast (region), and was the third President of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. Saakashvili is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement Party.

Involved in Georgian politics since 1995, he became president in January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in the November 2003 bloodless "Rose Revolution" led by Saakashvili and his political allies, Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Zhvania. He was re-elected in the Georgian presidential election on 5 January 2008. He was widely regarded as a pro-NATO and pro-West leader who spearheaded a series of political and economic reforms. In 2010, he had a 67% approval rating despite being criticized by the opposition for his alleged authoritarian tendencies and electoral fraud.