Shalva Natelashvili

Shalva Natelashvili (born February 17, 1958) is chairman and founder of Georgian Labour Party known for his populism and criticism of the former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili. He is married and has 2 children.

Born in the northern mountain town of Dusheti, Shalva Natelashvili graduated in law from Tbilisi State University and continued post-graduate study in the Diplomatic Academy of Foreign Ministry of the Soviet Union. After working in the General Prosecutor’s Office he became MP in 1992 and remained in the Parliament until 1999. He was among the group of MPs who participated in development of Georgia’s Constitution. In 1995 he founded the Georgian Labour Party, which gradually turned into Eduard Shevardnadze’s major opposition force, and now acts as Chairman of that party. He supported Shevardnadze's government during the 2003 Rose Revolution, however, and later was a staunch opponent of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

2007 Accusations of spying

On November 8, 2007, Natelashvili was charged with espionage and conspiracy to overthrow the government of Georgia. Nika Gvaramia, deputy chief prosecutor at the time, said the charges were based on evidence obtained through surveillance on employees of the Russian embassy in Tbilisi, whom the Georgian side has described as operatives of the Russian intelligence service.^[1] Two days later this charge was apparently relaxed, as the General Prosecutor's Office said Natelashvili would be questioned "in the status of witness", and President Saakashvili claimed he would not be arrested and he could compete in the January 2008 presidential election.^[2] Nonetheless, the charges have led Natelashvili to apply for asylum in the United States.^[3] His supporters claim that the charges are politically motivated, and result from Natelashvili's role in November 2007 anti-government demonstrations.

Natelashivili in a German satirical project

In 2007, Natelashvili participated in a satirical project of the German magazine Titanic. He met Martin Sonneborn, the leader of the satirical German party Die PARTEI, and other members of Die PARTEI, however didn't recognize that everything was a fake. Thus, Natelashvili later even was presented in the film "Die Partei" of 2009.^[4]

U.S. Media

In a 2011 Forbes magazine article, Natelashvili is quoted as saying that the leadership of Georgia were hand-picked by billionaire George Soros. The article quotes Natelashvili as saying, "Soros’s foundation nominated nine ministers of the Georgian government, and all of them were appointed. When they accomplish their mission, they will have to hand over the key posts in the government, economic and political levers of power, ports and railways to Soros. These are the ministers of the economy, culture, security, justice, education and so on. We do not even pay salaries to our government ministers, Soros does." ^[5] Natelashvili frequently appears on the American Fox News program, "On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren."

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