Thea Tsulukiani (Georgian: თეა წულუკიანი; born 21 January 1975) is a Georgian politician who is currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia. She previously served as Minister of Justice from October 2012 to October 2020. Prior to her ministerial roles, she ran as a candidate for the Free Democrats (Georgia), and was elected as Member of Parliament for Nazaladevi, a single- mandate constituency of the capital, with 72% of the vote. She resigned on 29 September 2020, effective 1 October. Since December, 2020 she is a member of Parliament of Georgia.
Tsulukiani has 10 years of experience as a lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECHR) where at the same time she served as a member of the Committee for Rules of Court and as a rapporteur on the cases examined by single-judge compositions.
Tsulukiani holds MPA degree from École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) in France (Averroès 1998-2000). She also holds the degree in international law and international relations and a diploma from the Academy of Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
From 2012 until 2020, Tsulukiani served as the Minister of Justice. She was the chairperson of 8 Inter-agency Councils in the Government of Georgia, among them the Criminal Justice Reform Council, the Anti-corruption Council, the Anti-drug, Anti-torture and Anti-trafficking Councils as well as the State Commission on Migration Issues and the Inter-agency Commission for Free and Fair Elections. Under her tenure, the court system in Georgia underwent several waves of reform. Her critics have argued that Tsulukiani during this time empowered a clan of judges, to ensure that courts return politically favourable decisions.
In March 2021, Tsulukiani was appointed Minister of Culture and Deputy PM. During her tenure, there have been widespread criticisms that Tsulukiani has removed experienced cultural managers, and instead appointed political loyalists, across the film, literature, music and museum sectors.
References
- Civil.ge (7 October 2012). "Media Reports on Ivanishvili's Possible Picks for Cabinet Posts". Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- "Justice Minister Tsulukiani Resigns to Join Election Campaign". Civil.ge. 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
- Imnadze, Guram (6 September 2021). "Waves of Judicial Reform That Cannot Reach the Shore | Heinrich Böll Stiftung | Tbilisi - South Caucasus Region". Heinrich Böll Stiftung Tbilisi. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- Nikoladze, Tatia (15 May 2023). "How the Georgian Judicial System Fell Under Western Sanctions". English Jamnews. Jam News. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- "Active, dismissed National Museum employees ask PM to stop Culture Minister's "destructive policy" in open letter". Agenda.ge. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
In an open letter submitted by the recently formed Union of Science, Education and Culture Workers of Georgia, 130 professionals from the major museum network ask the PM to "take an interest" in the events that have resulted in lawsuits and public protests organised against dismissals of about 50 employees from various museums of the group since Tsulukiani's appointment in the spring of 2021.
- "Explainer - Culture Ministry Saps Autonomy of Tbilisi State Conservatoire". civil.ge. Civil Georgia. 13 October 2023.
External links
- Meeting with French media representatives (11.12.2012)
- “Georgia can’t turn a blind eye to broken laws” (06.06.2013)
- Justice minister pledges freedom from political interference (20.09.2013)
- Minister of Justice on BBC (29.10.2013)
- « Visa liberalisation is what will bring us closer to the EU » (17.10.2014)
- Tea Tsulukiani: EEU doesn’t hinder Armenia-Georgia friendship (24.06. 2015)
- Changing Georgia in a Changing Europe
- Discourse: ‘Our philosophy is to have a good system’
- Why Georgia prioritises co-creation of public services
- 1975 births
- Living people
- Lawyers from Tbilisi
- Georgian Dream politicians
- Free Democrats (Georgia) politicians
- Politicians from Tbilisi
- Deputy prime ministers of Georgia
- Government ministers of Georgia (country)
- Tbilisi State University alumni
- École nationale d'administration alumni
- Women lawyers from Georgia (country)
- Women government ministers of Georgia (country)
- 21st-century women politicians from Georgia (country)
- Female justice ministers
- Justice ministers of Georgia
- 21st-century lawyers from Georgia (country)
- 21st-century women lawyers from Georgia (country)