This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28190328
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Georgian ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze dies at 86 | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Former Georgia President Eduard Shevardnadze has died aged 86. | Former Georgia President Eduard Shevardnadze has died aged 86. |
His aide Marina Davitashvili said he had passed away on Monday after a long illness. | His aide Marina Davitashvili said he had passed away on Monday after a long illness. |
In 1992 he became the head of state of Georgia after it broke away from the Soviet Union. | |
He led the country out of instability and civil war but in November 2003 was toppled in the "Rose Revolution" sparked by opposition allegations of irregularities in parliamentary polls. | He led the country out of instability and civil war but in November 2003 was toppled in the "Rose Revolution" sparked by opposition allegations of irregularities in parliamentary polls. |
Born in 1928 in the city of Lanchkhuti, Mr Shevardnadze joined the Communist Party's youth movement in 1946 and became the party's head in Georgia in 1972. | Born in 1928 in the city of Lanchkhuti, Mr Shevardnadze joined the Communist Party's youth movement in 1946 and became the party's head in Georgia in 1972. |
In 1985, he was appointed foreign minister of the Soviet Union under reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev and was credited with helping end the Cold War. | In 1985, he was appointed foreign minister of the Soviet Union under reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev and was credited with helping end the Cold War. |
Mr Gorbachev told the Russian Ekho Moskvy radio station that Mr Shevardnadze was a "very capable, talented man, very much predisposed to working with people, with all strata of society". | Mr Gorbachev told the Russian Ekho Moskvy radio station that Mr Shevardnadze was a "very capable, talented man, very much predisposed to working with people, with all strata of society". |
Mr Shevardnadze resigned from the post of foreign minister in 1990 before briefly taking it up again in 1991 as the country was disintegrating. | |
After returning to Georgia he managed to quell a civil war but was seen as having failed to tackle corruption in his time as president. | After returning to Georgia he managed to quell a civil war but was seen as having failed to tackle corruption in his time as president. |
He spent his final years in a quiet retirement in the capital, Tbilisi. | He spent his final years in a quiet retirement in the capital, Tbilisi. |