Georgia reformer Bendukidze dead at 58
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 14 November 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Georgia reformer Bendukidze dead at 58, 14 November 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/548ea8a1e.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 14, 2014
By RFE/RL's Georgian Service
Kakha Bendukidze
Kakha Bendukidze, a key figure behind Georgia's anticorruption drive and liberal economic reforms after the Rose Revolution of 2003, has died at age 58.
Bendukidze died in London on November 13.
The cause of death was not immediately known, but friends and colleagues said he had recently had heart surgery.
Born in Tbilisi, Bendukidze was a biologist turned businessman who amassed wealth in Russia's early 1990s privatization before returning to Georgia in 2004 following Mikheil Saakashvili's election as president in the wake of street protests that drove out the old guard.
He was economy minister in 2004 and state minister for reforms until 2008, then served as government chief of staff until early 2009.
This year, Bendukidze was a member of an expert council formed by President Petro Poroshenko to advise the pro-Western government in Ukraine on economic reforms.
With reporting by Bloomberg
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
