Eduard Shevardnadze

Eduard Shevardnadze was a Soviet and Georgian politician who served as Soviet foreign minister from 1985 to 1990 and president of Georgia from 1995 to 2003.

Mikhail Gorbachev: The Soviet leader who introduced perestroika and glasnost and served as general secretary from 1985 to 1991. Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze foreign minister and relied on him to advance a new foreign policy.
Revolutions of 1989: A wave of popular uprisings that ended communist rule across much of Central and Eastern Europe in 1989. Shevardnadze’s diplomacy accompanied the Soviet decision not to suppress these revolutions by force.
Rose Revolution: The 2003 Georgian protest movement that forced President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign. This largely peaceful uprising ended his presidency after disputes over parliamentary election results.
Perestroika: The restructuring reforms introduced in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev during the 1980s. Shevardnadze’s foreign-policy opening unfolded alongside Gorbachev’s domestic reform program.
James Baker: An American statesman who served as secretary of state from 1989 to 1992. Baker negotiated with Shevardnadze during the final years of the Cold War.
German reunification: The 1990 merger of East Germany and West Germany into a single sovereign state. As foreign minister, Shevardnadze negotiated the Soviet position on a reunified Germany and its alliances.
Georgian Civil War: The armed conflict in Georgia from 1991 to 1993 involving rival political forces and separatist regions. Shevardnadze returned to Georgia during the conflict and became head of state in 1992.
Glasnost: A policy of greater openness and public discussion introduced in the Soviet Union during the Gorbachev era. Its expansion of political debate contrasted with the corruption and restricted accountability criticized under Shevardnadze in Georgia.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia: A Georgian dissident who became the country’s first post-Soviet president, serving from 1991 to 1992. Gamsakhurdia’s nationalist presidency preceded Shevardnadze’s return to power amid civil conflict.
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty: A 1987 United States–Soviet treaty eliminating an entire class of ground-launched intermediate-range missiles. Shevardnadze’s ministry supported arms-control diplomacy during the Soviet-American thaw.

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