Alexander Kvitashvili

Minister of Health

Georgia On 31 January 2008, Kvitashvili was appointed by the then-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili as Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia. He resigned on 31 August 2010, citing "a proposal from academic circles" to be an acting rector of the Tbilisi State University, a position he took over in September 2010. He served as an elected Rector of the TSU from 27 December 2010 until his resignation on 12 June 2013.

Ukraine On 2 December 2014 Kvitashvili was appointed Minister of Healthcare of Ukraine in the Second Yatsenyuk Government with the hope to reform the country's healthcare system. He was granted the Ukrainian citizenship by President Petro Poroshenko on the same day. Georgia's incumbent Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili reacted negatively to the appointment, accusing Kvitashvili of "destroying" Georgia's healthcare system.

On 2 July 2015 Kvitashvili wrote a letter of resignation after losing the support of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc in which he stated "If my resignation helps pass bills that are needed to launch reform, I'm ready to leave". The Ukrainian parliament voted against accepting the resignation on 17 September 2015. On 10 December 2015 Kvitashvili stated in an interview with Ukraine Today about the refusal of parliament to accept his resignation "It doesn't matter though, I have been working since July the same hours, with the same effort that I was before". He publicly withdrew his letter of resignation on 4 February 2016. He did not retain his post in the Groysman Government that was installed on 14 April 2016.