Mikheil Kavelashvili: The Man City forward who is now the disputed president of Georgia
When most footballers conclude their playing careers they tend to go into management, punditry or business. But not Mikheil Kavelashvili.
The former Manchester City striker has this week been sworn in as president of Georgia. He was the only candidate on the ballot and his election has been disputed following controversial wider elections and protests in Georgia earlier in 2024.
The outgoing Salome Zourabichvili, who was a huge backer of getting Georgia to play in rugby’s Six Nations, says she is the legitimate president.
But who is Kavelashvili, where did he play and how did he find the opportunity to call the presidential Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi his home?
The former forward, now 53, was born in Bolnisi and represented Georgia 46 times at international level, scoring nine goals.
He played 29 times for Manchester City between 1996 and 1997 but failed to win anything under Alan Ball, Asa Hartford, Steve Coppell, Phil Neal or Frank Clark (yes, Man City had five people in charge during 1996-1997).
City were relegated from the top flight in 1996 but Kavelashvili stuck with the side, playing 24 games in the First Division, but his work permit was up and he got himself a loan transfer to Switzerland and he played out his career (ending in 2006) in the country.
In all, though, Kavelashvili won a Russian Cup with Spartak Vladikavkaz in 1995 after a stellar domestic career with Dinamo Tbilisi, a Swiss title with Grasshopper in 1998, a Swiss Cup with Zurich in 2000, five Georgian league titles in the 1990s and three Georgian cups in the same era.
Kavelashvili in politics
After a relatively quiet spell the former Manchester City striker was elected as a member of Parliament in Georgia for the Georgian Dream party in 2016.
In 2022 he co-founded the anti-western People’s Power party, which has links to the Georgian Dream party.
Kavelashvili accused Georgian opposition parties of being controlled by the US while also accusing the West of wanting “as many people as possible [to be] neutral and tolerant towards the LGBTQ ideology”, something the former English top division footballer described as “an act against humanity”.
He was elected president of Georgia in the last week of December in 2024, accusing his predecessor of violating the constitution.
Opposition parties dispute the election result having cried foul play in recent parliamentary elections but Kavelashvili is currently in the role after Zourabichvili vacated the presidential palace. The role is largely ceremonial.
Kavelashvili is therefore the second professional footballer to be elected as the president of a nation, after former City, Chelsea, AC Milan and PSG striker George Weah became the president of Liberia between 2018 and 2024.