Alexander Kartozia, Georgia’s ambassador to Germany, presented his credentials to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on July 23, nearly 10 months after being appointed to the post in October 2025.
“During the official ceremony, the two sides highlighted the particular importance of the long-standing friendship and partnership between Georgia and Germany,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
Kartozia, 67, served as Georgia’s education minister under President Eduard Shevardnadze from 1998 to 2004. He has also built long-standing academic and cultural ties with Germany, having led seminars at universities in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Bremen.
The credential presentation ceremony took place amid strained ties between Tbilisi and Berlin, with members of the ruling Georgian Dream party saying they want to improve relations with Germany while blaming former German Ambassador Peter Fischer, who recently ended his tenure, for their deterioration.
Fischer, who had been one of the most outspoken critics of Tbilisi’s anti-Western and anti-democratic drift, was among the most frequently targeted Western diplomats by Georgia’s ruling party and allied media, who repeatedly accused him of encouraging radicalism, supporting the opposition, and meddling in the country’s internal affairs. The German Foreign Office repeatedly defended Fischer against what it described as “baseless accusations” and “aggressive rhetoric” from Georgian Dream representatives.
Several days ahead of the Kartozia’s credential presentation ceremony, Georgia’s pro-government media reported that the German Foreign Office removed a page on Georgia from its website that listed Salome Zourabichvili as the country’s president. Tbilisi repeatedly urged Berlin to update the profile in line with the changes that followed the October 2024 parliamentary elections.
Specifically, the Georgian Foreign Ministry asked Germany to replace Salome Zourabichvili with Mikheil Kavelashvili and update the name of Georgia’s foreign minister from Ilia Darchiashvili to Maka Botchorishvili. Kavelashvili’s election as president by a Georgian Dream-dominated electoral college and Botchorishvili’s appointment as foreign minister followed the widely disputed parliamentary elections.
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