Georgia slams its doors to foreign influence: Reinforcing the state's shield With a new security chief at the helm

In Georgia, the leadership of a key security agency—the State Security Service (SSS)—is changing. Anri Okhanashvili, who has headed the agency since April 2025, announced his resignation and said he would take up the position of national security advisor to the prime minister. The Georgian government intends to present Mamuka Mdinaradze, the executive secretary of the ruling party “Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia,” to parliament as the new head of the State Security Service.

Mamuka Mdinaradze has been a member of the Georgian Parliament since 2016. During this time, he has served as the leader of the parliamentary majority and headed the “Georgian Dream” faction. Previously, Mdinaradze worked as a lawyer and as an investigator in the district investigative service of the Interior Ministry, giving him a solid understanding of how security agencies operate from the inside.

“We will submit Mamuka Mdinaradze’s candidacy to parliament. He needs no special introduction. I will only note that he has extensive experience in law enforcement, which is especially important for fulfilling the duties of the chief of the State Security Service,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said at a briefing.

Kobakhidze also emphasised that the country is actively combating organised crime, corruption, and drug-related offences. According to him, addressing these challenges requires additional effort, and Mdinaradze is capable of making a significant contribution to this work.

As a politician, Mamuka Mdinaradze is known for his consistent stance against foreign influence and externally imposed destructive phenomena, including the “drugification” of society. He was one of the authors and initiators of the anti-drug reform carried out by the “Georgian Dream” party, under which penalties for the sale of all types of narcotics were significantly toughened.

This measure received support from Georgian society and many families who had lost loved ones to drug addiction. However, it sparked “outrage” among the pro-Western opposition, a significant portion of whose “personnel,” according to the ruling party, struggle with drug dependence, and among the organisers of street unrest are drug dealers and distributors. It was precisely after the launch of the anti-drug reform that Mdinaradze became one of the most disliked members of the “Georgian Dream” party for the opposition.

The news of his appointment as chief of the State Security Service provoked a sharp reaction from the pro-Western opposition. Tina Bokuchava, chairperson of the “United National Movement,” stated: “Russian rule under Ivanishvili in Georgia will come to an end under Mamuka Mdinaradze’s leadership of the State Security Service.” According to her, victory is already very close.

Notably, the opposition primarily relies on external pressure. Moreover, such declarations of an imminent “victory” often indicate the weakening of the opposition’s own position.

Mamuka Mdinaradze's taking the helm of the State Security Service sends a signal to external actors: “Georgian Dream” has no intention of “giving in” or sacrificing the country’s interests for the sake of foreign geopolitical schemes.

It appears that the new Service chief will also be tasked with preventing attempts to co-opt high-ranking officials and security personnel into betrayal in the event of another “revolution” or “Maidan.” Under the current circumstances, the government cannot ignore such a threat.

It is worth recalling that during the attempted “Maidan” in Georgia at the end of 2024, the pro-Western opposition and Salome Zourabichvili urged officials and security personnel to “side with the people” (i.e., with foreign agents) and to resign from their posts. The aim was mass betrayal and the sabotage of lawful government orders to create chaos and facilitate a takeover of power.

However, the effort failed: the number of those who gave in to the agitation was minimal. Those who did submit resignation letters, citing a desire to “stand with the people fighting for a European future,” mostly regret their actions today. They are not being reinstated in government agencies, and very few have managed to recover their lost income and status.

At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that the opposition will again attempt to “lure” security personnel and government officials during the upcoming local elections on October 4, 2025. External forces may allocate significant resources to “buy off” key officials. For this reason, preventing betrayal within state structures becomes critically important.

According to the country’s leadership, the chief of the State Security Service should be a politician who has already proven his integrity and incorruptibility, as Mdinaradze did during the implementation of the anti-drug reform that dealt a blow to the drug mafia. At the same time, he must fully understand the scale of the threats the country faces under current geopolitical conditions.

The appointment of Mamuka Mdinaradze as chief of the State Security Service will strengthen the position of the “Georgian Dream” party and increase its chances of keeping the situation under control in the event of new attempts at an illegal change of power.

Vladimir Tskhvediani, Georgia, exclusively for Caliber.Az