The Diplomatic Passport of a President

My website is online for over a decade, and I got many requests from readers offering documents. The email I got these days was indeed one of the more exciting ones.

I was contacted by an individual, who holds the Georgian diplomatic passport of Eduard Schewardnarze. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1990 and served as the final Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1992 he became the leader of Georgia (as Chairman of Parliament) after president Zviad Gamsakhurdia resigned. In 1995, he became the second President and served until his resignation in 2003 because of the Rose Revolution. He governed Georgia for several non-consecutive periods from 1972. He served as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party (GPC) from 1972 to 1985, making him the de facto leader of Georgia. Diplomatic Passport Eduard Schewardnadze

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served in this position, except for a brief interruption between 1990 and 1991, until the fall of the Soviet Union. Only Gorbachev would outrank Shevardnadze in importance in Soviet foreign policy during this time. Shevardnadze was responsible for many critical decisions in Soviet foreign policy during the Gorbachev Era and was seen by the outside world as the face of Soviet reforms such as Perestroika.

Shevardnadze subsequently played a vital role in the détente that marked the end of the Cold War. He negotiated nuclear arms treaties with the United States. He helped end the war in Afghanistan, allowed the reunification of Germany, and withdrew Soviet forces from Eastern Europe and the Chinese border. He earned the nickname “The Silver Fox.” Diplomatic Passport Eduard Schewardnadze

In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Shevardnadze returned to the newly independent Georgia. He became the country’s head of state following the removal of the country’s first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Shevardnadze was formally elected president in 1995. Rampant corruption and accusations of nepotism marked his presidency. During the 2003 legislative election, allegations of electoral fraud led to a series of public protests and demonstrations colloquially known as the Rose Revolution. Eventually, Shevardnadze was forced to resign. He later published his memoirs.

Shevardnadze spent his last years living quietly at his mansion house in the outskirts of Tbilisi. As his health deteriorated, his involvement in public life became much reduced. After a long illness, he died at 86 on 7 July 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered condolences. Kerry credited Shevardnadze with playing “an instrumental role” in bringing about the end of the Cold War, a reduction of “the risk of nuclear confrontation” as the Soviet Union’s Foreign Minister, ensuring “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Georgia] during the 1990s” as President of Georgia and putting the country “on its irreversible trajectory toward Euro-Atlantic integration.” Diplomatic Passport Eduard Schewardnadze

Shevardnadze was accorded a state funeral on 13 July 2014, attended by the Georgian political leaders and foreign dignitaries, including the former US Secretary of State James Baker and former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. After a service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, Shevardnadze was buried next to his late wife Nanuli Shevardnadze at the Krtsanisi residence in Tbilisi.

According to the owner, who could acquire the passport via a relative was even contacting Schewardnadze’s family directly, asking if it was ok for them that he had this passport. The family seemed fine with it and didn’t want it back. Sergey says, “Georgia is a small country, and more or less, everybody knows everyone. So it was only fair to ask the family for a statement.”

A remarkable document of a significant character during the Soviet era and the Cold War, a man who helped change the world. Together with Gorbachev, he ultimately contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany.  Diplomatic Passport Eduard Schewardnadze

Georgia Diplomatic Passport issued in 1998, passport no#0009137, 44 pages and full of visas and stamps. Including a USA Diplomatic visa from 1999 as “President of the Republic of Georgia.” The condition is excellent, with typical use for a frequent traveler, and complete.

 

 

Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
Featured in media incl. CNN, BBC, Newsweek. Awarded by the U.S. Department of State.
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