Bidzina Ivanishvili

Who is Bidzina Ivanishvili?

Bidzina Ivanishvili is a Georgian businessman and politician who was Prime Minister of Georgia from 25 October 2012 to 20 November 2013. He founded and led the Georgian Dream coalition, which won the 2012 parliamentary election. After the 2013 presidential election, he voluntarily resigned both his government and party positions, naming his long-time associate Irakli Gharibashvili as his successor.

In March 2010, Ivanishvili was granted French citizenship. In October 2011, he was deprived of his Georgian citizenship "according to Article 32 of the Georgian Law on Citizenship", shortly after he had announced his intention to form a political party to challenge Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

In March 2012, Ivanishvili was ranked at number 153 in Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires with an estimated worth of $6.4 billion, making him Georgia's richest person.