President of Georgia

The president of Georgia (Georgian: საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, romanized: sakartvelos p'rezident'i) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia as well as the commander-in-chief of the Defence Forces. The constitution defines the presidential office as "the guarantor of the country's unity and national independence."

The president is largely a figurehead as in many parliamentary democracies but does retain some significant authorities, such as the right to issue pardons. Executive power is vested in the Government and the prime minister. The office was first introduced by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on 14 April 1991, five days after Georgia's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. Currently, the presidential term is five years.

On 14 December 2024, the Georgian Electoral Assembly elected Mikheil Kavelashvili as the new president and inaugurated him on 29 December 2024. It was the first indirect election of the president in Georgia's history after the constitutional amendments changed the electoral system in 2017. Opposition parties, Georgian constitutional experts, as well as parts of the international community consider Kavelashvili's presidency illegitimate and maintain that Salome Zourabichvili continues to be the president.