Dr. David Chikvaidze on four decades of foreign service, UN work & the future of mulitlateralism
Dr. David Chikvaidze worked for nearly four decades in the foreign service, government and the international civil service. He is an observer of great power relationships, Eurasian geopolitics, global security issues and their impact on energy security, connectivity, and strategic stability and risk.
He advised five Directors-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) as their Chief of Staff, providing “early warning radar” and back-channel diplomacy. Prior to joining the UN, Chikvaidze negotiated the programs of state visits by Presidents Gorbachev and Yeltsin to the UN, US, Japan, Spain, France, the UK, and South Korea. He served as deputy Chief of the Front Office and scheduler for President Gorbachev and as presidential advance officer for President Yeltsin. He spent five years in Washington, D.C. (1985-1990) as special assistant to the Soviet Ambassador and chief of protocol of the embassy, where he worked with the White House, the Department of State, and other Executive Departments, preparing and managing US-Soviet Summits and ministerial meetings.
Parallel event
Prior to Dr. Chikvaidze’s talk in the same room, Prof. Bo Petersson and Prof. Karina Vamling, directors of the Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus Regional Research Centre (RUCARR) are organizing a Seminar and Webinar on “Language and Conflict in War” – the second day of a two-days event. CEMES Vice Chair Barbara Törnquist-Plewa will chair the concluding roundtable event.