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Georgia The Chief Executive
The 1992 Law on State Power gave Shevardnadze power beyond
the executive functions of presidential office. As chairman of
parliament, he had the right to call routine or extraordinary
parliamentary sessions, preside over parliamentary deliberations,
and propose constitutional changes and legislation. As head of
state, Shevardnadze nominated the prime minister, the cabinet,
the chairman of the Information and Intelligence Service, and the
president of the National Bank of Georgia (although the
parliament had the right of approval of these officials).
Without parliamentary approval, the head of government
appointed all senior military leaders and provincial officials
such as prefects and mayors. Additional power came from his
control of the entire system of state administration, and he
could form his own administrative apparatus, which had the
potential to act as a shadow government beyond the control of any
other branch. Key agencies chaired by Shevardnadze in 1993 were
the Council for National Security and Defense, the Emergency
Economic Council, and the Scientific and Technical Commission,
which advised on military and industrial questions.
In response to calls by the opposition for his resignation
during the Abkhazian crisis of mid-1993, Shevardnadze requested
and received from parliament emergency powers to appoint all
ministers except the prime minister and to issue decrees on
economic policy without legislative approval. When the Sigua
government resigned in August, parliament quickly approved
Shevardnadze's nomination of industrialist Otar Patsatsia as
prime minister. Although Shevardnadze argued that greater central
power was necessary to curb turmoil, his critics saw him setting
a precedent for future dictatorship and human rights abuses.
Data as of March 1994
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