IDFI opened a memorial plate of Akaki Chkenkeli at the public school N2 in Khoni named after Akaki Chkhenkeli on May 17, 2018. The event was attended by the representatives of the school, Information Center for NATO and the EU and Khoni Municipality.
Akaki Chkhenkeli (1874 – 5 January 1959)
Was born in Khoni in a priest’s family and had many siblings. After the primary school in Khoni he studied in Tbilisi and then continued his education in the universities of Kiev, Berlin, Paris and London and obtained degrees in literature and law.
He was a Chairperson of the Government of Trancaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and later in 1918 he became a Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. In 1917-1921 he was a member of the Constitutional Assembly and of the National Council (Parliament) of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Georgia to France (1921).
Akaki Chkhenkeliplayed a big part in the declaration of independence of Georgia on the 26th of May 1918. ‘Nothing is done without risking! You can’t found a state without taking risks!’ – He wrote in his letter from Batumi conference to the National Council of Georgia.
He died in Paris and was buried in Leuville Georgian cemetery.
In 2015 Khoni public school #2 was named after Akaki Chkhenkeli.
After the event Anton Vacharadze, a historian / Head of the Archive and Soviet Study Direction at IDFI spoke about Georgia’s pass towards independence and Akaki Chkhenkeli’s role in this regards.
