| Minister of Defence of the Republic of Abkhazia |
|
|---|---|
| Appointer | President of Abkhazia |
| Term length | unrestricted |
| Inaugural holder | Vladimir Arshba |
| Formation | 11 October 1992 |
The office of Minister of Defence (Abkhaz: атәыла хьчара аминистр, Russian: министр обороны) has been one of the most important in the Republic of Abkhazia due to the ongoing conflict with Georgia.[1] The position was created 11 October 1992, shortly after the outbreak of the 1992-1993 war with Georgia. The first minister of Defence was Vladimir Arshba, but due to his injuries for most of the time his functions were carried out by Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff Sultan Sosnaliev, who eventually also formally succeeded Arshba on 25 April 2003. Sosnaliev oversaw Abkhazia's successful expulsion of Georgian forces and remained Defence Minister until on 1 July 1996 he resigned to return to his native Kabardia.
Sosnaliev's successor was Vladimir Mikanba, who held the position during the May 1998 war in the Gali district and the October 2001 incursion of Chechen fighters down the Kodori valley.
Mikanba was succeeded by Raul Jumka-ipa Khajimba, who would go on to become Prime Minister, and who is the current Vice President of Abkhazia. 22 April 2003, when Khajimba became Prime Minister, Viacheslav Eshba became Minister for Defence. On 8 November 2004, during the height of the crisis following the 2004 Presidential election, a source within the government claimed that Eshba had been replaced by Mukhamed Kilba, the deputy chief of Khadjimba's presidential campaign, but this was denied by Prime Minister Nodar Khashba.[2]
On 25 February 2005, newly elected Predident Sergei Bagapsh called on Sultan Sosnaliev to become Defence Minister once more. Sosnaliev agreed and held the office until shortly after his 65th birthday on 8 May 2007 he resigned for personal reasons.[3]
26 June 2007 then Deputy Defence Minister Mirab Boris-ipa Kishmaria was appointed Sosnaliev's successor. During the August 2008 war in South Ossetia, he oversaw the Abkhazian conquest of so-called Upper Abkhazia, the only part of Abkhazia that had remained under Georgian control since the 1992-1993 war. Kishmaria remains Minister of Defence until the present day.
| # | Name | Entered office | Left office | President | Comments | ||
| 1 | Vladimir Arshba | 11 October 1992 | [1] | 25 April 1993 | Vladislav Ardzinba | ||
| 2 | Sultan Sosnaliyev | 25 April 1993 | [1] | 1 July 1996 | [1] | First time | |
| 3 | Vladimir Mikanba | July 1996 | 9 December 2002 | [4] | |||
| 4 | Raul Jumka-ipa Khajimba | 9 December 2002 | [4] | 22 April 2003 | |||
| 5 | Viacheslav Eshba | 22 April 2003 | [4] | 25 February 2005 | [5] | ||
| 6 | Sultan Sosnaliyev | 25 February 2005 | [6] | 8 May 2007 | [3] | Sergei Bagapsh | Second time |
| 7 | Mirab Boris-ipa Kishmaria | 26 June 2007 | [7] | Incumbent |