Cultural Diversity Roster

Find a Presenter

speaker

Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili

Former President of the Republic of Georgia

Mikheil Saakashvili was the President of Georgia from 2004 to 2013. After the peaceful Rose Revolution of 2003..

See Below for Full Bio

Categories :

Add To My Speakers List Request Availabilty
[Sassy_Social_Share]

Bio

Full Bio

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by John McCain and Hillary Clinton, Mikheil Saakashvili was the President of Georgia from 2004 to 2013. After the peaceful Rose Revolution of 2003, he became Europe’s youngest head of state—and set out charting a new course for Georgia. During his time as President of Georgia, Saakashvili was vilified by Vladimir Putin and won the admiration of the West. Commenting upon Saakashvili leaving office, President Obama said, “You are leaving a great legacy of democracy and a reformed Georgia.”

President Saakashvili quickly gained global recognition for his historic anti-corruption initiatives that transformed Georgia, leading the World Bank to name the country the top reformer in the world. Before Saakashvili’s presidency, Georgia ranked 100th on the authoritative “Doing Business” report. By 2006, Georgia ranked 37th, and soon moved up to the top 20.

Georgia’s path to the West drew the ire of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has always viewed Georgia and other former Soviet republics as Russia’s exclusive zone of influence. In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia, and Saakashvili emerged as Putin’s enemy number one.

Despite the unimaginable damage done by the war—and the Russian occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territory—Saakashvili continued to drive reforms that spurred economic growth. Ultimately, he dismantled the Soviet legacy in Georgia, and built in its place a pro-Western democracy.

Since leaving office at the end of his second term in 2013, President Saakashvili has remained a leading advocate for closer ties between Eastern Europe and the West. He participated in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution and invited John McCain to address the protests alongside him in December 2013. In 2014, President Saakashvili served as the first Senior Statesman in Residence at the prestigious Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. In this role, President Saakashvili conducted major addresses and lectures on European governance and other contemporary international and regional issues.

After the revolution in Ukraine, President Saakashvili was invited to advise the new Ukrainian government as Ukraine sought closer ties with the West. From 2015 to 2016, President Saakashvili served as the Governor of Ukraine’s Odessa region, where he led ambitious efforts to reform the customs system and combat organized crime.

Currently, he is a political opposition leader and anti-corruption advocate. President Saakashvili is frequently invited to discuss Russia, Putin, and other timely political issues on U.S.

and international television, including MSNBC, France 24, Al Jazeera, and BBC. Because of his close friendship with John McCain, President Saakashvili was recently invited to comment on McCain’s legacy for CNN, NPR, Fox News, and other outlets.

President Saakashvili studied law at Columbia University, George Washington University, and the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. He is fluent in English, Russian, French, Ukrainian, and Georgian.

Check Availability

MM slash DD slash YYYY
Check Availability for

Topics

Topics

Putin’s Russia: The Gravest Threat to Democracy

Reform & Sustainable Development: Lessons from Georgia

Videos

Videos

'We cannot allow Ukraine to collapse' | Interview with Mikheil Saakashvili
President Obama's Bilateral Meeting with President Saakashvili of Georgia

Books

Please Contact Us For More Information

News

Please Contact Us For More Information

TESTIMONIALS

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

GET IDEAS

1 Hour or Less
914-940-0075 "America's Entertainment Leader"