[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 39 (Thursday, April 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF ZURAB ZHVANIA, PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC 
                               OF GEORGIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2005

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 
108, commemorating the life of the late Prime Minister of the Republic 
of Georgia, Zurab Zhvania. I commend my colleagues, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. 
Smith, and Mr. Wexler, for introducing this resolution and I am proud 
to be a cosponsor. I want to thank them for providing us an opportunity 
to recognize the life and contributions of Prime Minister Zhvania to 
the cause of freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, on February 3 of this year, the Republic of Georgia 
suffered a tremendous loss with the untimely passing of their Prime 
Minister, Zurab Zhvania. An academic and unlikely political hero, 
Zhvania was elected to the Georgian national parliament in 1992, after 
the collapse of the Soviet Union. His passion and his eloquence brought 
him to the attention of Eduard Shevardnadze, and eventually to the 
office of Speaker of the Georgian Parliament. A champion of democracy 
and freedom of the press, Zhvania distanced himself from Shevardnadze 
and joined a party of young reformers who brought about the Rose 
Revolution in 2003. As the Prime Minister, Zhvania led the economic and 
social reform efforts that have transformed the lives of the Georgian 
people.
  His visionary leadership in guiding the Republic of Georgia as it 
reached independence, his commitment to the development of core 
democratic values, and his tremendous courage in the face of adversity, 
will make the late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania a towering figure in 
the history of the independent Republic of Georgia.

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