Interior Minister Nominated to Head State Security Service

PM Irakli Garibashvili (left) makes announcement about nomination of incumbent Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri (right) as head of the planned State Security Service, July 20, 2015. Photo: PM’s office

Incumbent Interior Minister, Vakhtang Gomelauri, has been nominated as head of the State Security Service, which will be established from August 1 as a result of decoupling of intelligence and security agencies from the interior ministry.

Gomelauri, 39, will need support of at least 76 MPs to be confirmed on the post for a six-year term by the Parliament, where Georgian Dream ruling coalition holds majority.

If confirmed, which is highly likely, a post of the Interior Minister will become vacant. PM Irakli Garibashvili has yet to name who will replace Gomelauri as the Interior Minister.

Before becoming Interior Minister in late January, 2015 he served as Deputy Interior Minister since spring, 2013.

Before that Gomelauri served in security detail of ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“I know him [Gomelauri] for 12 years,” said PM Irakli Garibashvili, who worked in Ivanishvili’s entities before going into politics ahead of 2012 parliamentary elections. “Vakho is very honorable, professional, principled and a just person with good managerial skills.”

He also said while making the nomination that he believes Gomelauri “will do everything in order to gain public trust” for the planned State Security Service.

“He really deserves trust of our society,” Garibashvili said.

The State Security Service will unite some of those units, which are currently within the Interior Ministry – counter-terrorism center; counter-intelligence; anti-corruption agency; operative-technical department, which is eavesdropping agency in charge of surveillance operations, and special operations department.

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