George (Gia) Maisashvili (Georgian: გიორგი [გია] მაისაშვილი) (born November 24, 1962) is a Georgian economist and politician who was a presidential candidate in the Georgian presidential election, 2008.
Born in Tbilisi, Maisashvili graduated from the Tbilisi State University in 1985. He was involved in students' pro-independence protests against the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, but left Georgia after Eduard Shevardnadze came to power in 1992. He was granted a political asylum by the United States and graduated from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1997. The same year, he joined the Houston, Texas-based energy company Enron and served as the head of a risk analysis unit until quitting the company in 2001.
He returned to Georgia on the eve of the 2003 Rose Revolution and became a political mentor and an economic adviser to then opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili. Shortly after Saakashvili's ascend to power, Maisashvili distanced himself from the new president. In 2006, he set up a Leadership School with the declared aim to rear "a new generation of skilled, wise and courageous leaders." In July 2007, he became more actively involved in politics and established the Party of Future (momavlis partia).
He registered as a presidential candidate for the early elections called on January 5, 2008. He made a major focus on economy and social solidarity, and supported Georgia's bid to join NATO. On November 30, 2007, in what is now considered the critical blunder of his campaign, he stated that he would rather support Mikheil Saakashvili in the case of a second-round run-off against the oligarchBadri Patarkatsishvili.[1] Such a statement was immediately exploited by his opponents and the media to his disadvantage, resulting in significant drop in poll numbers.
He ran in the May 2008 Parliamentary election from Tbilisi’s Saburtalo constituency on the Christian-Democratic Alliance ticket. The Alliance.[2]
On May 6, 2009, while attempting to arbitrate a peaceful outcome in a clash between a disorderly political demonstration and the riot police, Maisashvili was shot by the riot police in the head with a rubber bullet.[3] He eventually fully recovered from his injuries.
As of 2010, George Maisashvili works in Houston, Texas as a leadership development consultant.He has three young children, Sophia, Anna and William(Shalva).