GD Parliament Approves Mdinaradze as Georgia’s Security Chief

The Georgian Dream parliament approved on September 3 Mamuka Mdinaradze as the new chief of the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG), with 85 MPs from the ruling party voting unanimously in his favor and none against. The vote followed a closed-door hearing of Mdinaradze in the one-party parliament’s defense and security committee.

Mdinaradze, who has served as the GD parliamentary majority leader, was nominated by GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze for the SSSG chief post on August 23, following the resignation of the former head Anri Okhanashvili, who served in the role only for five months. SSSG chiefs are set to serve for a six-year term.

“A strong country needs strong special agencies,” Mdinaradze said after the vote in his first comment to journalists in his new capacity. “Especially in recent years, our country has declared that the Georgian state is successful, sovereign, and independent. Accordingly, without strong security services, it is impossible even to approach this ambitious goal.”

Mdinaradze said the State Security Service will have two main priorities under his leadership: “First, the occupation and its consequences. Second, foreign interference and the threats of provocations stemming from these foreign interferences inside the country.” He also named fighting corruption as one of the agency’s top tasks.

Mdinaradze also commented on the recent arrest by the Interior Ministry of an individual said to have carried a firearm at the September 2 protest on Rustaveli Avenue, saying, “We don’t know yet, but we can assume what provocation and its subsequent harmful result the city or the country was spared yesterday.” He added, “I will take an interest in this matter first.”

Mamuka Mdinaradze becomes the fourth chief of the State Security Service of Georgia since the agency was established in 2015. His predecessors were Vakhtang Gomelauri (2015–2019), Grigol Liluashvili (2019–2024), and Anri Okhanashvili, who served the shortest term from April to August 2025.

As Mdinaradze moved to head the security agency, his seat in parliament became vacant. Lawmakers have already approved Tornike Paghava to replace him, while MP Irakli Kirtskhalia was named the new leader of the GD parliamentary majority.

The GD parliament, which has just reconvened its fall session yesterday, September 2, will again go on a one-month break starting tomorrow, September 4, until October 15, following the local elections scheduled for October 4.

During two days of plenary sessions, GD MPs approved the credentials of 12 members of ex-PM Giorgi Gakharia’s opposition For Georgia party and heard a 470-page report from MP Tea Tsulukiani, chair of a temporary investigative commission. The report declared, among others, that the Rose Revolution was a “coup” and largely accused the former UNM government of systemic human rights abuses and provoking the August 2008 war with Russia.

Also Read:

• 02/09/2025 – Police Detain Sixteen Protesters at Rustaveli Avenue Rally
• 23/07/2025 – Georgian Dream Resignation Streak: Who Left and Why

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