Georgia’s envoy to Spain becomes UNWTO Secretary General

Zurab Pololikashvili, Georgia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Spain, has been elected Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Until now, he was Georgia’s Permanent Representative to the UN World Tourism Organization.

Zurab Pololikashvili will hold the Secretary General’s post until 2021. The election was held as part of the 105^th session of the UNWTO Executive Council, in Spain’s capital, Madrid.

“This is the first case where a Georgian candidate assumed a leading position at a significant international organization. The elections were conducted within the framework of the 105^th session of the Organization’s Executive Council, in Madrid. A majority of the Council Member States voted in favour for Zurab Pololikashvili. The election of the Georgian candidate as UNWTO’s Secretary General highlights Georgia’s role and aspiration to make its contribution to the implementation of world governance. Besides, Zurab Pololikashvili’s election to an influential post in the World Tourism Organization clearly indicates that the international community supports Georgia’s reforms and achievements in the tourism area,” Georgian Foreign Ministry stated.

From 2005-2010, Zurab Pololikashvili worked in President Saakashvili’s government, first as the Deputy Foreign Minister, and then as Georgia’s ambassador to Spain. He served as the Minister of Economic Development of Georgia from 2009-2010. Until 2012, he was Vice President of the TBC Group and CEO of FC Dinamo Tbilisi. In 2012, he was appointed Georgia’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain for a second time.