The
Cabinet of Georgia is an
executive council of
government ministers in
Georgia. It is headed by the
Prime Minister of Georgia. In the cases of utmost importance, the meetings may be led by the
President of Georgia . The first Cabinet of Georgia was formed by
Noe Zhordania in the
Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918. However, the first
head of government was
Noe Ramishvili,
Zhordania succeeding him. Until 24 January 2008 the cabinet consisted of four
State Ministers and thirteen
Ministers. After the re-election of President
Mikheil Saakashvili significant changes were made to the structure of the cabinet by the then head of the Georgian Government
Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze . As a result, currently there are five State Ministers and thirteen Ministers. In Georgian politics, a State Minister enjoys seniority over a Minister as opposed to the
British Cabinet where a State Minister is below a Minister by rank. As a consequence of 2008 changes, several new positions, such as State Minister for European Integration and State Minister for Diasporas as well as State Minister for Reintegration were introduced. The position State Minister for Reforms was abolished. The Ministers of Defense and Internal Affairs as well as the Prosecutor General were not members of the cabinet as such and were subordinated to the President of Georgia. But now they are considered to be the members of the cabinet.