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Аҧснытәи Автономтәи Республика
აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკის მთავრობა
Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia

Official languages	Abkhaz, Georgian
Location	Upper Abkhazia (formerly known as Kodori Valley)
Status	Partially government in exile
Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers	Malkhaz Akishbaia
Chairman of the Supreme Council	Temur Mzhavia

The De jure Government of Abkhazia (Georgian: აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკის მთავრობა, Abkhaz: Ари' е'иҕьуп Аҧснытәи Автономтәи Республика) is the only body internationally recognized as a legal authority of Abkhazia , Georgia’s autonomous republic which has been largely out of the Georgian control since the secessionist war there in the early 1990s. It is partially in exile.

The de jure Government of Abkhazia, then called the "Council of Ministers of Abkhazia", left Abkhazia after the Russian-backed Abkhaz separatist forces and their allies from the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus took control of the region’s capital Sukhumi after heavy fighting on September 27 1993, leading to the mass killings of ethnic Georgians and loyal citizens, in which several members of the Abkhazian government, including its chairman Zhiuli Shartava, were executed by the rebels. The Council of Ministers relocated to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, where it operated as a de jure government of Abkhazia for almost 13 years. During this period, the Government of Abkhazia in exile (GAIE), led by Tamaz Nadareishvili, was implicated in some internal controversies and had not taken an active part in the politics of Abkhazia until a new chairman, Irakli Alasania, was appointed by President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, his envoy in the peace talks over Abkhazia.

Amid the ongoing Georgian police operation in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, in which a local militia, led by the defiant warlord Emzar Kvitsiani, has been largely disarmed, and the constitutional order restored in the area, President Saakashvili announced, on July 27 2006, that the authorities have decided to establish currently Tbilisi-based Abkhazian government-in-exile in the Kodori Gorge/Upper Abkhazia, which represents almost 17% of breakaway Abkhazia in terms of area and is home to 1% of its population. "This decision means that for the first time since 1993 the government enters into the midst of Abkhazia, of our Abkhazia, to exercise Georgian jurisdiction and the Georgian constitutional order. This is very important fact and very fundamental political event," Saakashvili said in his televised address to the nation.

Malkhaz Akishbaia, elected in April 2006, is the current head of the GAIE.

Heads of the Government of Abkhazia-in-exile

• Tamaz Nadareishvili, September 1993 – March 16 2004
• Londer Tsaava, March 16 2004 – September 30 2004
• Irakli Alasania, September 30 2004 – April 24 2006
• Malkhaz Akishbaia, April 24 2006 – incumbent

Executive branch of de jure Government

References

1. Federal practice : exploring alternatives for Georgia and Abkhazia, Coppieters, Bruno, p. 59
2. Resolutions and statements of the United Nations Security Council (1946-2000): a thematic guide Wellens, Karel. p 289.
3. Federal Practice- Alternatives for Georgia and Abkhazia Bruno Coppieters, pp.23-24
4. http://www.unomig.org/media/headlines/?id=7661&y=2007&m=1&d=31
5. http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/Georgia%20S2006%20739.pdf
6. Tbilisi-Based Abkhaz Government Moves to Kodori, Civil Georgia, July 27 2006. URL accessed on 2007-07-28.

External links

• Official website

• Upper Abkhazia
• Abkhazia
• Government of Georgia (country)