Irakli Kobakhidze

Irakli Kobakhidze (Georgian: ირაკლი კობახიძე; born 25 September 1978) is a Georgian politician who holds the position of the prime minister of Georgia since 2024 and chairman of Georgian Dream since 2025, having previously served in this role from 2021 to 2024.

A member of Georgian Dream, Kobakhidze previously served as a member of the Georgian Parliament from 2016 to 2024, the sixth chairman of the Parliament of Georgia from 2016 to 2019, and the vice-president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2020 to 2022. Prior to joining politics, he was a professor at the Tbilisi State University and also worked for Western-funded non-governmental organizations.

Kobakhidze is one of the main propagators of the "Global War Party" conspiracy theory. His government accelerated the deterioration of relations with the West and has been accused of internationally sabotaging Georgia’s EU membership bid. The United States announced sanctions against Kobakhidze, members of his government, and the members of the Georgian Dream party for "undermining democracy in Georgia." Under Kobakhidze's tenure, Georgia has undergone democratic backsliding, violence and torture of protesters opposing ruling party policies, and a shift towards authoritarianism. His rhetoric has been widely described as anti-Western, with him accusing the West of pushing Georgia into "opening a second front" and joining the Russo-Ukrainian War on numerous occasions.

Kobakhidze is a largely nominal figurehead of the Georgian government and is ultimately accountable to Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire oligarch who is widely recognized as the de facto ruler of Georgia.