Please join the Russia and Eurasia Program at The Fletcher School for a virtual talk by Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia. He will discuss what lessons the United States can draw today from earlier police reforms in Georgia and Ukraine. Please make sure to register via myFletcher to participate in the event on Zoom. The event will also be streamed live via Facebook.

Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician. He became President of Georgia in 2004 following the peaceful “Rose Revolution” of 2003. As president, he transformed law enforcement from acting like a criminal gang into a legitimate, well-respected profession. Saakashvili recently wrote a piece for Foreign Policy about his experience abolishing and rebuilding the police in Georgia with recommendations for how the United States can do the same. After his presidency ended in 2013, he came to The Fletcher School to serve as its first Senior Statesman in residence. He was later granted Ukrainian citizenship by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and was appointed Governor of Odesa (2015-2016) before quitting and being stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. Since then, he has regained his Ukrainian citizenship and heads Ukraine’s National Reform Council under Ukraine’s current president, Volodymyr Zelensky.