Irakli Kobakhidze has once again become the chairman of Georgian Dream, the party founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2012 which has since been in power in Georgia. Ivanishvili is the party’s honorary chairman and is widely seen as the country’s shadow ruler. Kobakhidze is also the current prime minister of Georgia and had previously served as party chairman until February 2024. At that time, a political reshuffle took place with then Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili becoming party chairman, while Kobakhidze was nominated for the prime minister’s post.
The party was left without a chairman on 25 April 2025, when Garibashvili announced his departure from politics. The decision to reappoint Irakli Kobakhidze as chairman was made on 7 May at the 9th congress of Georgian Dream. The congress lasted just 18 minutes and was attended by Bidzina Ivanishvili though he was largely silent during the event.
The congress also approved a new 15-member political council amny of whom are likely to be sanctioned under the Megobari Act once it is fully approved. The Megobari Act was passed on 6 May by the US House of Representatives. It proposes sanctions against members of the Georgian government and other individuals deemed as threats to the country’s stability, security and democracy.
The bill also calls for a full reassessment of US - Georgia relations, including all aid programmes. The bill must now be approved by the US Senate, with the final step being President Donald Trump’s signature.
According to a list published by the bill’s sponsor, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, the following individuals are at risk of sanctions: Irakli Kobakhidze, Kakha Kaladze, Shalva Papuashvili, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Tea Tsulukiani, Vakhtang Gomelauri, Maka Bochorishvili, Dimitri Samkharadze, Sulkhan Tamazashvili and Nino Tsilosani.
The new party chairman Irakli Kobakhidze was upbeat at the congress saying that the party has begun preparations for the local elections in October 2025: “Our campaign will officially launch in a few weeks. The party will be fully mobilised for victory in honour of our 10th anniversary. With the support of the Georgian people, we will win the mayoral and city council elections in all 64 municipalities of the country. This will be a victory for an even stronger, more prosperous, and more developed Georgia”.
