CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the prime minister of the country of Georgia and a 1998 master’s degree graduate in finance from the University of Illinois, will speak on campus April 27. He will make remarks and take questions at 4:45 p.m. in the Deloitte Auditorium of the Business Instructional Facility, 515 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign. The event is open to the public.
Prior to the public event, he will meet with Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson, Interim Provost Edward Feser, College of Business Dean Jeffrey R. Brown and Morgan Lynge, a professor of business.
“The College of Business is pleased to welcome our alumnus, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili,” Brown said. “We’re thankful he is here, which is a testament to the societal impact and the reputation of the College of Business.”
Prior to becoming prime minister in December 2015, Kvirikashvili served as vice prime minister (2013-15) while serving as foreign minister (2015) and minister of economy and sustainable development (2012-15). According to his biography, he is attempting to modernize Georgia’s economy and more fully integrate the country into European and Euro-Atlantic economic and security structures.
In addition to the graduate degree in finance from Illinois (with a specialization in international finance), Kvirikashvili earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Tbilisi (Georgia) State University and an undergraduate degree in medicine from Tbilisi State Medical Institute.
He is married with four children and speaks Georgian, English and Russian.
