Othar Shalikashvili

Who is Othar Shalikashvili?

Othar Joseph Shalikashvili is a retired United States colonel of Georgian origin. He is the elder brother of General John Shalikashvili.

Othar J. Shalikashvili was born in Milanówek, Poland, into the family of the émigré Georgian officer Prince Dimitri Shalikashvili and his wife Countess Maria Rüdiger-Belyaeva. The family moved to the United States in the 1950s. Having graduated from the Officer Candidate School in 1955, Othar J. Shalikashvili joined the U.S. Army and participated in the Special Forces Qualification Course. From December 1970 to May 1971, he commanded the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the Vietnam War. Since 1971, he worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as a military instructor. From 1977 to 1978, he was the commander of the 10th Special Forces Group.

After his retirement from the army service, Shalikashvili was appointed, in 2001, as a U.S. Secretary of Defense Senior Military Consultant on Georgian Defense Matters. He is also a member of the Board of Advisers of the Georgian Association in the United States of America.