In the spotlight: Mikheil Saakashvili

Saakashvili was the youngest president in Europe when he took office in January 2004, following the so-called Rose Revolution - a nationwide protest against allegedly rigged parliamentary elections. The protests led to the ouster of then-President Eduard Shevardnadze and Saakashvili was subsequently elected with over 90 percent of the vote.

In 2007, Georgia faced another crisis, after a series of anti-government demonstrations were held. Under fire from opponents who accused his government of authoritarianism and a lack of will to combat corruption, Saakashvili decided to hold early presidential elections in 2008. He was re-elected with over 50 percent of the vote.

The son of a historian mother and a physician father, Saakashvili was born in Tbilisi in 1967 and graduated from the School of International Law at the KievStateUniversity in 1992. He also received a Master of Laws degree from ColumbiaLawSchool in New York, in 1994, and received a diploma in Comparative Law of Human Rights from the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.

In 1995, he won a seat in the Georgian parliament with the Union of Citizens of Georgia party. In 2000, Saakashvili became Minister of Justice for the government but resigned the following year, founding the United National Movement party.

Saakashvili is seen as a strong pro-Western leader and has worked on securing Georgian membership in NATO and the EU, but he has also worked to maintain cordial relations with Russia. Under his leadership, Georgia has had a close relationship with Poland and he considers Polish President Lech Kaczyński one of his closest allies.

Saakashvili is married and has two sons.