Raul Khajimba facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raul Khajimba
Рауль Ҳаџьымба
Official portrait, 2015
4th President of Abkhazia
In office 25 September 2014 – 12 January 2020
Prime Minister	Beslan Butba Artur Mikvabia Beslan Bartsits Shamil Adzynba (Acting) Gennadi Gagulia Daur Arshba (Acting) Valeri Bganba
Vice President	Vitali Gabnia Aslan Bartsits
Preceded by	Alexander Ankvab
Succeeded by	Valeri Bganba (Acting)
Member of Parliament for Constituency no. 30 (Tkvarcheli)
In office 3 April 2012 – 7 October 2014
Preceded by	Daur Arshba
Succeeded by	Taifun Ardzinba
Chairman of the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia
In office 12 May 2010 – 31 March 2015
Preceded by	Daur Arshba Astamur Tania
Succeeded by	Daur Arshba
Vice President of Abkhazia
In office 12 February 2005 – 28 May 2009
President	Sergei Bagapsh
Preceded by	Valery Arshba
Succeeded by	Alexander Ankvab
5th Prime Minister of Abkhazia
In office 22 April 2003 – 6 October 2004
President	Vladislav Ardzinba
Preceded by	Gennady Gagulia
Succeeded by	Nodar Khashba
Minister for Defence
In office 19 December 2002 – 22 April 2003
Prime Minister	Gennady Gagulia
Preceded by	Vladimir Mikanba
Succeeded by	Viacheslav Eshba
First Vice Premier of Abkhazia
In office 18 June 2001 – 22 April 2003
Prime Minister	Anri Jergenia Gennady Gagulia
Preceded by	Beslan Kubrava
Succeeded by	Astamur Tarba
Head of the State Security Service
In office December 1999 – 1 November 2001
President	Vladislav Ardzinba
Preceded by	Astamur Tarba
Succeeded by	Zurab Agumava
Personal details
Born	(1959-03-21) 21 March 1959 (age 66) Tkvarcheli, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Abkhaz
Political party	Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia
Spouse	Saida Kuchuberiya
Children	2
Alma mater	Abkhazian State University

Raul Jumkovich Khajimba is an Abkhazian politician. He served as the 4th President of Abkhazia from September 2014 to January 2020. Before becoming president, he held several important roles. These included Vice President (2005–2009), Prime Minister (2003–2004), and Defence Minister (2002–2003). He also led the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia political party from 2010 to 2015. Khajimba ran for president several times before winning in 2014. He resigned from the presidency in 2020 after protests.

Early Life and Education

Raul Khajimba was born on March 21, 1959, in Tkvarcheli. He went to school there and worked as a mechanic at a power station. From 1976 to 1978, he served in the Soviet Air Defence Forces. He then studied law at the Abkhazian State University, graduating in 1984. After that, he attended a KGB school in Minsk from 1985 to 1986. He worked as a KGB agent in Tkvarcheli until 1992.

Role in the War

During the 1992–1993 war with Georgia, Khajimba was in charge of military intelligence and counterintelligence on the eastern front. For his efforts, he received the Order of Leon, a special award.

Customs Committee Work

From 1996 to 1998, Khajimba led the anti-smuggling team at the State Customs Committee. In 1998, he became the deputy chairman of this committee.

Key Government Roles (1999–2004)

Raul Khajimba held several high-level positions in the Abkhazian government.

Leading Security and Defence

In December 1999, President Ardzinba appointed Khajimba as the Head of the State Security Service. This happened after a bomb attack in Sukhumi. In June 2001, he also became the First Vice Premier. He was later appointed Defence Minister in May 2002, while still serving as First Vice Premier.

Serving as Prime Minister

In April 2003, the Prime Minister at the time, Gennadi Gagulia, resigned. This happened after some prisoners escaped and there were plans for protests. On April 22, 2003, Raul Khajimba was chosen as the new Prime Minister. He held this position until October 2004.

During this time, the President, Vladislav Ardzinba, was very ill and did not appear in public often. Because of this, Khajimba often acted as the country's leader. He met with important political figures, including Russia's foreign minister. Khajimba was strongly against Abkhazia rejoining Georgia. He spoke out against Georgia's proposal for a two-state federation in May 2004.

Presidential Elections (2004 and 2005)

Raul Khajimba was a top candidate in the October 2004 presidential elections. He had strong support from the outgoing President Ardzinba and Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the opposition candidate, Sergei Bagapsh, received more votes. Many believed this was because people reacted against the strong Russian influence in Khajimba's campaign.

After the election, both Khajimba and Bagapsh claimed they had won. Khajimba said there was cheating in the voting. President Ardzinba then removed Khajimba as Prime Minister. After two months of disagreements and protests, Khajimba and Bagapsh reached an agreement in December 2004. They decided to run together in new elections, with Khajimba as Bagapsh's Vice President. The Vice President's role was given more power over defence and foreign affairs. This joint team easily won the January 2005 election with over 90% of the votes.

Vice President (2005–2009)

Even though Khajimba became Vice President with expanded powers, some experts thought his real power would be limited. They believed President Bagapsh and his Prime Minister would still have the most control.

In June 2008, Khajimba attended a meeting of the Aruaa veteran organization. This group criticized the government's foreign policy, especially its talks with Georgian and Western diplomats. They wanted stronger ties with Russia. Khajimba agreed with this criticism. He said that Russia was Abkhazia's only protector. He also believed that force would be needed to take control of the upper Kodori Valley, which was the only part of Abkhazia still controlled by Georgia. In August 2008, the Abkhazian military did take the upper Kodori Valley during the war over South Ossetia.

On May 28, 2009, Khajimba resigned as Vice President. He stated that he agreed with the criticism of the government. He also said he couldn't fight corruption or improve security because he didn't have enough support from President Bagapsh. He accused Bagapsh of not following their 2004 power-sharing agreement.

Opposition Leader (2009–2014)

After resigning as Vice President, Khajimba became a leader in the opposition.

2009 Presidential Election

Khajimba ran for president again in the 2009 Abkhazian presidential election. He tried to form alliances with other candidates but couldn't agree on positions. He was officially nominated for president in October and received support from several groups, including the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia. He chose Vasilii Avidzba as his vice presidential candidate.

In the end, the current President, Sergei Bagapsh, won the election in the first round. Khajimba came in second place with about 15.32% of the votes.

Leading the Forum for National Unity

On May 12, 2010, Raul Khajimba was elected Chairman of the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia. This made him the main leader of the party.

2011 Presidential Election

Khajimba ran for president once more in the 2011 Abkhazian presidential election, after President Sergei Bagapsh passed away. His running mate was Svetlana Jergenia. They were nominated by the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia and received support from other groups. They finished in third place with 19.82% of the votes, losing to Acting President Alexander Ankvab.

May 2014 Protests

In May 2014, Khajimba led protests against the government. These protests led to President Alexander Ankvab resigning on June 1, 2014. Khajimba then won the special presidential election that followed, with a close victory of 50.60% in the first round.

President of Abkhazia (2014–2020)

Raul Khajimba became president on September 25, 2014. Two months later, he signed an important agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This agreement aimed to make ties between Abkhazia and Russia even stronger. It included putting the Abkhazian military under Russia's direct control and aligning Abkhazia's trade laws with the Eurasian Economic Union. Many Western countries and the Republic of Georgia criticized this treaty. However, Khajimba said that closer ties with Russia would help keep Abkhazia safe and provide many chances for its social and economic growth.

During his time as president, Raul Khajimba received several awards. These included the Order of Merit (from Transnistria) and the Order of Friendship (from the Republic of South Ossetia and Transnistria). He also received the Umayyad Order from the Syrian Arab Republic.

Raul Khajimba was re-elected in September 2019. He won 26.33% of the votes in the first round and 48.68% in the second. However, in January 2020, protests started against him. On January 10, the Supreme Court of Abkhazia said that his victory in the 2019 election was not valid. They called for new elections to be held on March 22. On January 12, 2020, Raul Khajimba resigned from the presidency.

See also

In Spanish: Raul Jadyimba para niños