Alexander Ankvab

Alexander Ankvab Алықьсандр Анқәаб
President of Abkhazia
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 May 2011 Acting: 29 May 2011 – 26 September 2011
Prime Minister	Sergei Shamba Leonid Lakerbaia
Vice President	Mikhail Logua
Preceded by	Sergei Bagapsh
Prime Minister of Abkhazia
In office 14 February 2005 – 13 February 2010
President	Sergei Bagapsh
Preceded by	Nodar Khashba
Succeeded by	Sergei Shamba
Vice President of Abkhazia
In office 12 February 2010 – 29 May 2011
President	Sergei Bagapsh
Preceded by	Raul Khadjimba
Succeeded by	Mikhail Logua
Personal details
Born	26 December 1952 (1952-12-26) Sukhumi, Soviet Union
Political party	Aitaira
Alma mater	Rostov State University

Aleksandr Ankvab (Abkhaz: Алықьсандр Золотинска-иҧа Анқәаб, Russian: Александр Золотинскович Анкваб; born December 26, 1952) is an Abkhaz politician and businessman who has been President of Abkhazia since 2011. Under President Sergei Bagapsh, he previously served as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2010 and Vice-President from 2010 to 2011.

In the 4 October 2004 presidential election, Ankvab supported Bagapsh's candidacy following his own exclusion by the Central Election Commission; he was subsequently appointed as Prime Minister by Bagapsh in February 2005.

Ankvab was appointed acting President of Abkhazia after President Bagapsh underwent an operation on May 21, 2011. Following the operation, Bagapsh died on May 29, 2011 and Ankvab served as Acting President until winning election in his own right later in 2011.

Ankvab survived six attempts on his life from 2005 to 2012, last time as a president on February 22, 2012, when his convoy was ambushed in Abkhazia, killing two of his guards.

Early life and career

Born in the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi, Ankvab graduated with a degree in law from the Rostov State University in southern Russia and worked in the Komsomol, the Justice Ministry of the Abkhaz ASSR, and the Interior Ministry of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic until his resignation in 1990.

He was elected to the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet in 1991. He was appointed interior minister of Abkhazia's separatist government during the 1992-1993 conflict with the Georgian central government. Following the Abkhaz victory, he moved to Moscow in 1994 and became a successful businessman.

2004 Presidential election

Main article: Abkhazian presidential election, 2004

Ankvab returned to Abkhazian politics in 2000, setting up the movement Aitaira ("Revival") in opposition to the government of President Vladislav Ardzinba. In 2004 he announced that he would run for president, but was disqualified as ineligible on the grounds that he could not speak Abkhaz (a requirement for public office in the republic) and had lived in Abkhazia for too short a time. Ankvab decided to support Bagapsh instead and was crucial to the latter's electoral success. His appointment as prime minister was widely predicted.

2009 Presidential election

Main article: Abkhazian presidential election, 2009

Ankvab was Sergei Bagapsh's Vice Presidential candidate in the 12 December 2009 presidential election. As required by law, Ankvab was therefore officially suspended from his post on 11 November, his duties to be carried out by First Vice Premier Leonid Lakerbaia. Bagapsh and Ankvab won the election, and they were sworn in on 12 February 2010. The following day, Ankvab was succeeded as Prime Minister by Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba.

2011 Presidential election

Main article: Abkhazian presidential election, 2011

After Bagapsh's unexpected death after lung surgery, Ankvab became an acting president. He was nominated for presidency by a initiative group for a snap presidential elections held in the region on August 26, 2011. During the election campaign, on August 15, supporters of Ankvab's opponent Sergei Shamba organized an outdoor screening of a video interview of Moscow-based retired Georgian general Tengiz Kitovani, a Georgian commander during the 1990s war in Abkhazia, in which he claimed that Ankvab had cooperated with the Georgian intelligence service during the conflict. Ankvab accused Shamba of resorting to black PR, while Shamba's campaign team issued a statement calling on the prosecutor's office to investigate Ankvab's war-time activities. According to the preliminary results Ankvab garnered up to 55% of votes, defeating tShamba and ex-vice president and opposition candidate Raul Khajimba.

Assassination attempts

Ankvab has survived six assassination attempts since in 2005. In 2005, his car was attacked twice on the road from Gudauta to Sukhumi. On July 9, 2007, he was lightly injured when his vehicle was fired upon from a grenade cup discharger on the road between Sukhumi and Gudauta. The Abkhaz People's Assembly called government to timely investigate the attack and accused "destructive forces active both inside and outside Abkhazia" of trying to destabilize the situation in Abkhazia. The de facto Abkhaz Interior Ministry has declared a 500,000-Russian ruble reward for information leading to the capture of the attackers, who are thought to be local. There are a variety of suggested motives for the attack. The Georgian MP Konstantine Gabashvili accused the Russian special services of trying to get rid of Ankvab, who had suggested inventorying real estate in Abkhazia and reexamining all illegal real estate transactions, including those involving Russian companies. On September 23, 2010, Ankvab was injured when his house came under grenade launcher attack. He received fragmentation injuries to his arm and leg.

On February 22,20 12, Ankvab survived a mine and gun attack on his convoy on the road from Gudauta to Sukhumi, which killed two of his guards.

References

Political offices
Preceded by Nodar Khashba	Prime Minister of Abkhazia 2005–2010	Succeeded by Sergei Shamba
Preceded by Raul Khadjimba	Vice President of Abkhazia 2010–2011	Succeeded by Mikhail Logua
Preceded by Sergei Bagapsh	President of Abkhazia 2011–present	Incumbent