Palmer Prize Recipient

Salome Zourabichvili was elected President of Georgia in December 2018, serving as the country’s first female head of state. Born in Paris to Georgian political immigrants, she joined the French diplomatic service in the 1970s, holding senior posts in Paris, New York, Rome, Washington, N'[Djamena, and Brussels. Served as France’s Ambassador to Georgia (2003–2004) before being appointed Georgia’s Foreign Minister in 2004 through a joint decision by the French and Georgian presidents.

As Foreign Minister, she advanced Georgia’s pro-Western foreign policy, signing key NATO agreements and negotiating the EU-Georgia Action Plan. In 2005, she successfully brokered the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Georgian-occupied territories. 
 

In 2006, she founded and led the political party The Georgia’s Way until 2010. From 2010 to 2015, she chaired the UN Security Council’s sanctions monitoring group on Iran. Elected as an independent MP in 2016, she became President of Georgia in 2018, reaffirming her commitment to EU and NATO integration.
 

She authored the Petra Declaration to coordinate the European integration efforts of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova. In 2024, responding to Georgia’s democratic backsliding, she launched
the Georgian Charter to unite pro-Western forces and advance the country’s EU agenda. A steadfast advocate of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic membership, Zourabichvili is widely seen as a pro-
European leader representing the will of the Georgian people.