BBC NEWS | Europe | Profile: Mikheil Saakashvili

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</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="storybody"> <p>  <table border="0" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="203" cellpadding="0"> <tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39517000/jpg/_39517610_saakashvili_story_afp.jpg" width="203" height="152" alt="Mikhail Saakashvili" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="0"> <div class="cap">Saakashvili: People's hero or demagogue?</div> </div> </td></tr> </table>  <b>Georgia's new president - who led protests that swept Eduard Shevardnadze from office - has vowed to turn his poverty-stricken country into a prosperous western-leaning state.</b> <p>Mikheil Saakashvili, 36, has built himself the reputation of a crusader against corruption and an enemy of poverty. <p>Opinion polls suggest he has been the country's most popular politician for the last two years, and he appeared to have achieved a landslide victory in the 4 January election. <p>But critics describe him as a demagogue and a populist with a strong lust for power. <p>Mr Saakashvili is proud of his own achievements, which he believes qualify him to deal with his country's problems. <p>"We need to deal with that mess as soon as possible," he told French news agency AFP. <p>"I am ready to deal with that mess." <p><b>Groomed for power</b> <p>He studied in Ukraine and France, before attending Columbia University law school in the United States. He was later hired by a New York-based law firm. <p>This explains why - in addition to his native Georgian - the new president speaks fluent English, French, Ukrainian and Russian. <p>Mr Saakashvili - whose supporters affectionately call him Misha - has a young son and a Dutch wife, Sandra. <p>  <table border="0" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="203" cellpadding="0"> <tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39517000/jpg/_39517612_poster_story_afp.jpg" width="203" height="152" alt="Woman with poster of Saakashvili" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="0"> <div class="cap">Saakashvili has ridden a wave of popular discontent</div> </div> </td></tr> </table>  <p>He always intended to return to Georgia, and in October 2000 was appointed justice minister by the then president Eduard Shevardnadze. <p>Mr Shevardnadze began grooming the young lawyer for power, but Mr Saakashvili found it hard to stomach what he saw as corruption and cronyism in Georgia's leadership. <p>He caused uproar at a cabinet meeting by producing documents which he said showed fellow ministers had acquired expensive villas from the proceeds of crooked deals. <p>By 2002 he had resigned, saying he considered it immoral to remain a member of the government. <p>He formed an opposition party, the National Movement, and was elected head of the city council of the capital Tbilisi - home to one-third of Georgia's residents. <p>From this power base, he attempted to establish himself as a man of action, impressing many by fixing leaky roofs and broken lifts. <p><b>Affection</b> <p>He harnessed popular discontent and saw in November's parliamentary elections an opportunity to make his mark nationally. <p>When the elections became tainted by allegations of fraud, he organised daily protests against the government, building up a head of steam which led eventually to the storming of parliament and Mr Shevardnadze's resignation. <p>But while Mr Saakashvili has vigorously pursued his goal of radical change and a "velvet revolution", he appears to retain an affection for his former mentor. <p>Speaking of a recent meeting with Mr Shevardnadze, he said: "I told him, with great pain... Look Mr President, you had a great chance to become the founding father of a new Georgian nation, and you missed it." <p>And when the end finally came, he described Mr Shevardnadze's resignation as a "courageous act". "History will judge him kindly," he said as the jubilant crowds celebrated.  <br /><br clear="all" /> <div class="mvtb"><table cellspacing="0" width="416" border="0" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td width="213"><a class="epl" onClick="popUpPage('http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/email/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3231852.stm','status=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,width=370,height=445','Mailer')" href="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/email/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3231852.stm" target="Mailer"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/email.gif" align="left" width="17" height="11" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="3"> E-mail this to a friend </a></td> <td width="203"><a class="epl" onClick="popUpPage('http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3231852.stm','status=no,scrollbars=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,menubar=yes,width=600,height=445','Printer')" 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src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gif" width="57" height="13" alt="" border="0" vspace="5" hspace="0"> </a> <br /><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="203" height="2" alt="" border="0" vspace="2" class="avBoxBottomLineImage"><br /> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="10" alt=""><br /> <div class="puffbox"> <div class="o"> <div class="mph1"> GEORGIA POLITICAL CRISIS </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <div class="nlp"> KEY STORIES </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/3693675.stm">Press digests Ajaria aftermath</a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/3688703.stm">Ajaria welcomes president</a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/3688435.stm">Rebel leader quits power</a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/3682735.stm">Ajaria boss cracks down</a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/in_pictures/3687487.stm">In pictures: Ajaria tension</a> </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/cccccc.gif" width="203" height="1" alt="" border="0" vspace="3" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <div class="nlp"> BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/3691371.stm">Disputed regions</a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1102477.stm">Georgia country profile</a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1102575.stm">Timeline: Georgia</a> </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/cccccc.gif" width="203" height="1" alt="" border="0" vspace="3" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <div 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