Mr. Valeri Chechelashvili has been a career diplomat since October 1989. He held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia from Second Secretary to Deputy Foreign Minister (1998 – 2000). He was Minister of Finance in 2005 and First Deputy Foreign Minister (2005 – 2007).
He has served as an Ambassador to Ukraine (1994 – 1998), Ambassador to Russian Federation (2004 – 2005), Secretary-General of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (2000 – 2004), and Secretary-General of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM (2007 – 2016). Mr. Chechelashvili has graduated from the Kiev State University, Faculty of International Relations and International Law, Department of International Economic Relations (1983) and completed a Ph.D. in International Economy (1987).
From 2016 he was a Senior Fellow at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies and from 2019 he is visiting professor of Sokhumi State University.
Mr. Chechelashvili was awarded a number of medals and orders. He is the author of a number of articles on diplomacy, regional economic cooperation, and international relations.
He is a member of the European Leadership Network.
