[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S1144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF THE LATE ZURAB ZHVANIA OF THE REPUBLIC OF 
                                GEORGIA

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 46, which was submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 46) commemorating the life of the 
     late Zurab Zhvania, former Prime Minister of the Republic of 
     Georgia.

  This being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, today I offer a resolution commemorating 
the life of the late Zurab Zhvania, former Prime Minister of the 
Republic of Georgia.
  At the request of President Bush, I was honored to lead a delegation 
last weekend to represent the United States at Prime Minister Zhvania's 
funeral. Also representing the United States was Paul Applegarth, 
Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO; and Lorne Craner, President of 
the International Republican Institute.
  Prime Minister Zhvania was a prominent leader in Georgia's Rose 
Revolution. He was a true reformer, lauded for his intellectual acuity, 
and a friend of America. I was fortunate to meet with Zhvania last 
December. We had an extensive discussion about Georgia's promising 
future and vigorous agenda to transform it into a regional model of 
political and economic progress.
  The U.S.-Georgia relationship is strong. I am grateful to Georgia's 
recent decision to increase its troop level in Iraq. I am also grateful 
for its partnership in the War on Terror, including its troop 
commitment in Afghanistan and to the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. I 
am hopeful that our strategic relationship with Georgia will continue 
to grow as we face the new threats of the 21st century.
  The death of Prime Minister Zhvania is a loss for Georgia, for the 
United States, and for the community of democratic nations. I ask my 
colleagues for their support of this resolution.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, on a personal note, I knew Zurab 
Zhvania. I worked with him quite a bit. He was one of the original 
democracy advocates inside Georgia, a country that came out of the 
former Soviet Union, a wonderful man, with a great heart. He started 
out as an environmentalist. That is how he got active in the political 
system. He and Mr. Shevardnaze formed an alliance and moved the country 
toward democracy through a tumultuous time period. He was one of the 
lead architects of the Rose Revolution and democracy coming forward in 
Georgia.
  I cannot let this pass without noting what an incredible loss he is 
to Georgia. He would have been one of at least the top one to three 
people who make that country move to where it is today. They are 
suspicious circumstances under which he died--gas inhalation in an 
apartment. It appears to be natural causes, but there has been a lot of 
difficult political activity going on in Georgia--kidnappings and 
deaths that have taken place. I hope that was not the case.
  I have my own personal thoughts of him, and my sympathy goes out to 
his family--his wife and young children. He was 41 years old. He was a 
wonderful guy and he will be sorely missed in Georgia and around the 
world. I know his family will miss him dearly.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 46) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 46

       Whereas on the night of February 3, 2005, the Prime 
     Minister of the Republic of Georgia, Zurab Zhvania, died, 
     apparently due to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a 
     malfunctioning heater;
       Whereas the death of Prime Minister Zhvania at the age of 
     41 is a tragic loss for the Republic of Georgia;
       Whereas Zurab Zhvania was a dedicated reformer whose 
     visionary leadership inspired a new generation of political 
     leaders in the Republic of Georgia;
       Whereas Zurab Zhvania founded the Citizen's Union Party, 
     which won elections in 1995, making him the Speaker of the 
     Georgian Parliament;
       Whereas under the leadership of Speaker Zhvania, the 
     Georgian Parliament was transformed into an effective and 
     transparent legislative institution;
       Whereas in November 2001, Speaker Zhvania resigned his 
     position in protest when government authorities attempted to 
     suppress the leading independent television station in the 
     Republic of Georgia;
       Whereas Zurab Zhvania formed the United Democrats, a party 
     that blossomed into one of the major forces that brought 
     about the Rose Revolution in the Republic of Georgia in 
     November 2003;
       Whereas in the most dangerous hours of the Rose Revolution, 
     when it appeared that armed force could be used against the 
     peaceful protestors, Zurab Zhvania dismissed his bodyguards 
     and led a march to Parliament accompanied only by his young 
     children;
       Whereas Zurab Zhvania was named Prime Minister of the 
     Republic of Georgia in November 2003, and led governmental 
     efforts to develop and implement far-reaching economic, 
     judicial, military, and social reforms thereby turning the 
     promise of the Rose Revolution into real results that have 
     dramatically improved life in the Republic of Georgia;
       Whereas the strong commitment of Zurab Zhvania to the 
     peaceful restoration of the territorial integrity of Georgia 
     was most recently displayed in the central role he played in 
     the development of the unprecedented and generous proposal of 
     the Republic of Georgia for resolving the status of South 
     Ossetia peacefully and justly; and
       Whereas Zurab Zhvania's vision of the historical destiny of 
     Georgia was eloquently expressed before the Council of Europe 
     on April 27, 1999, when he said, ``I am Georgian and 
     therefore, I am European'':
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses its deepest condolences to the family of 
     Zurab Zhvania for their tragic loss of a son, husband, and 
     father;
       (2) commends the courage, energy, political imagination, 
     and leadership of Zurab Zhvania that were so critical to the 
     development of a democratic Republic of Georgia; and
       (3) recognizes that the integration of the Republic of 
     Georgia into Euro-Atlantic institutions will be the 
     completion of the vision of Zurab Zhvania and his most 
     lasting legacy.

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