Billionaire Philanthropist Poised to Become Georgia's PM
Leader of the opposition Georgian Dream coalition Bidzina Ivanishvili (C) addresses the media near his wife Eka Khvedelidze (R), who voted at a polling station during the parliamentary election, in Tbilisi October 1, 2012.
Georgian opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili is known in the former Soviet republic as a once-poor, now-billionaire philanthropist who backed President Mikheil Saakashvili before his crackdown on public dissent and the 2008 territory war with Russia.
Ivanishvili, who leads the opposition Georgian Dream coalition, is now poised to become prime minister, a position that will gain much more power when Saakashvili finishes his final term next year. The Georgian constitution mandates that some presidential powers be handed over to the prime minister at that time.
The opposition leader says he, like the president, supports Georgia joining NATO and the European Union, but he also wants to mend ties with Russia.
Ivanishvili, 56, is reported by Forbes magazine to have a fortune of some $6.4 billion, and is known for keeping exotic animals, collecting art, and funding various improvement projects in the poor region of Georgia where he grew up. Before his relationship with Saakashvili soured, Ivanishvili even used his fortune to buy supplies for soldiers in Georgia's army.
Ivanishvili made much of his fortune building various businesses in Russia, leading to criticism from Saakashvili that his rival is too strongly tied to Moscow and Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Ivanishvili has sold all his Russian businesses since joining the political competition.
But he says his ties to Russia -- compared to the icy relationship between Saakashvili and Putin -- will benefit Georgia diplomatically and economically.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Georgia's Ruling Party Concedes Defeat in Parliamentary Election
1/10Supporters of an opposition Georgian Dream coalition celebrate exit poll results in Tbilisi, Georgia, October 1, 2012.
2/10Georgian billionaire and opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, left, celebrates with supporters at his office in Tbilisi Georgia, October 1, 2012.
3/10Opposition supporters reacts on the central square during a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, October 1, 2012.
4/10Georgians vote during Parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, October 1, 2012. Voters in Georgia are choosing a new parliament in a heated election that will decide the future of Saakashvili's government.
5/10Lines at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, October 1, 2012.
6/10An elderly woman casts her ballot at her home in the village of Sartichala in Georgia's Kakhety region, October 1, 2012.
7/10Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, his wife Sandra Roelofs, and his son Nikoloz at a ballot box before voting in Tblisi, October 1, 2012.
8/10Leader of the opposition Georgian Dream coalition, Bidzina Ivanishvili, addresses the media in Tbilisi October 1, 2012.
9/10Bidzina Ivanishvili and his wife Ekaterine Khvedelidze pray in a church in Tbilisi, October 1, 2012.
10/10Supporters of the opposition Georgian Dream Coalition attend an election rally in Tbilisi September 29, 2012.
The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.
