Anri Djergenia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anri Djergenia (born 1941) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia, a de facto independent republic of Georgia from 2001-02.

Like the others to have served as Prime Minister, Djergenia was pro-Russian, and vociferously opposed to reunification with Georgia. Under Djergenia, Abkhazia perhaps came the closest to uniting with Russia, as he openly discussed working towards associate membership of Russia. He encouraged Abkhazians to take up Russian passports, and as a result, a large percentage of the population now has them. He also pledged a military alliance with Eduard Kokoity, President of South Ossetia to discourage Georgia from attacking either entity.

Djergenia has played a key role in the survival of Abkhazia as a separate entity, both before and during his time as Prime Minister. He first served as the special envoy of President Vladislav Ardzinba, in which he personally handled most of the negotiations with Russia, Georgia, the United States and the United Nations. He is also the only Abkhazian representative to have addressed the United Nations Security Council, after achieving Russian support to do so. At the same time, he also served as Prosecutor-General, which led to Djergenia having to defend Abkhazia's treatment of its prisoners of war.

On 29 November 2002, Djergenia was fired by President Ardzinba, reportedly due to his failure to ensure fulfillment of budget targets, and was replaced with former Prime Minister Gennady Gagulia. This led to a shift in Abkhazian foreign policy, as Djergenia, while still steadfast on the question of independence, was much more open to negotiations than his successor.

Along with former Prime Ministers Gennady Gagulia and Sergei Bagapsh, reports suggested that Djergenia may make a political comeback at the October 2004 elections. He was touted as a possible candidate for the Amtsakhara opposition movement. However, Bagapsh became the candidate of that movement, and was ultimately elected in a second round of voting brought on by a prolonged period of dispute over the results. Djergenia came in fifth place in the first round, receiving only 0.9% of the vote, and did not contest the second.

Preceded by: Vyacheslav Tsugba

Prime Minister of Abkhazia 2001–2002

Succeeded by: Gennady Gagulia