Prime Minister of Abkhazia

Prime Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia

Incumbent
Artur Mikvabia
since 20 March 2015
Inaugural holder Gennady Gagulia
Formation 26 November 1994
Abkhazia
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Abkhazia
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The Prime Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia is responsible for directing day-to-day government.

Background

While the Presidency was filled by one man – Vladislav Ardzinba – from 1994 to 2005, the position of Prime Minister changed hands a number of times during that time. It was created with the November 1994 adoption of the Constitution of Abkhazia, although Gennady Gagulia became the first Prime Minister only in January 1995.

History

After Sergei Bagapsh succeeded Ardzinba to the Presidency in February 2005, he appointed Alexander Ankvab as Prime Minister. Ankvab was Bagapsh's Vice Presidential candidate in the 12 December 2009 presidential election,[1] and as required by law, he was officially suspended from his post on 11 November and his duties were carried out by First Vice Premier Leonid Lakerbaia.[2] Bagapsh and Ankvab won the election, and on 13 February 2010, Ankvab was succeeded by long-time Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Shamba.[3]

After Alexander Ankvab defeated Sergei Shamba in the 2011 Presidential election, Leonid Lakerbaia became Prime Minister.

On 2 June 2014, Lakerbaia resigned as a result of the 2014 Abkhazian political crisis and Vice Premier Vladimir Delba was appointed acting Prime Minister.[4]

The election to succeed Alexander Ankvab as President was won by opposition leader Raul Khajimba, who on 29 September 2014 appointed Beslan Butba as the new Prime Minister.[5] However, there were rumors of Butba's resignation almost since the beginning of his term, explained variously by a power struggle between Butba and Khajimba and by Butba's supposed bad performance as Prime Minister.[6] Butba was finally dismissed by President Khajimba on 16 March 2015, and temporarily replaced by First Vice Premier Shamil Adzynba.[7] In a press conference afterwards, Butba said that he had made Khajimba aware of his intention to resign. He claimed that the Presidential Administration had taken over many of the responsibilities of the Prime Minister, creating a 'second government'.[6] On 20 March, Khajimba appointed MP and former United Abkhazia Chairman Artur Mikvabia as Butba's successor.[8]

List of Prime Ministers of Abkhazia

№ Name Took Office Left Office Party
1 Gennady Gagulia
(1st time)		 January 1995 29 April 1997 Independent
2 Sergei Bagapsh 29 April 1997 December 1999 Independent
3 Viacheslav Tsugba 30 December 1999 30 May 2001 Independent
4 Anri Jergenia 7 June 2001 29 November 2002 Independent
5 Gennady Gagulia
(2nd time)		 29 November 2002 8 April 2003 Independent
6 Raul Khajimba 22 April 2003 6 October 2004 Independent
7 Nodar Khashba 6 October 2004 14 February 2005 United Abkhazia
8 Alexander Ankvab 14 February 2005 13 February 2010 Aitaira
9 Sergei Shamba 13 February 2010 27 September 2011 Social-Democratic Party of Abkhazia
10 Leonid Lakerbaia 27 September 2011 2 June 2014 Aitaira
— Vladimir Delba
Acting Prime Minister		 2 June 2014 29 September 2014 Independent
11 Beslan Butba 29 September 2014 17 March 2015 Party for the Economic Development of Abkhazia
— Shamil Adzynba
Acting Prime Minister		 17 March 2015 20 March 2015 Independent
12 Artur Mikvabia 20 March 2015 Incumbent United Abkhazia

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, July 28, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.