Background
Davit Narmania was born in 1979 in Zugdidi in then-Soviet Georgia.
Davit Narmania was born in 1979 in Zugdidi in then-Soviet Georgia.
He graduated from the Tbilisi State University (TSU) with a degree in economics in 1996 and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy from his alma mater in 2005.
An economist with academic background, he was Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia from 2012 to 2014. He worked for various governmental, non-governmental, and private organizations from 2001 to 2012 and lectured in economics at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs and TSU.
After the GD"s victory in the October 2012 parliamentary election, Narmania assumed the office of Minister Regional Development and Infrastructure. At that time, the incoming cabinet planned to dissolve the ministry.
Narmania"s portfolio was considered to be temporary and it was planned to move him to the position of First Deputy Minister of Finances.
Yet, Narmania served as Minister Regional Development and Infrastructure until his resignation on 14 April 2014 on the occasion of his nomination as the GD"s candidate for the at the scheduled June 2014 local elections. Narmania"s candidacy for the capital"s mayor was selected by Bidzina Ivanishvili shortly before his resignation as Prime Minister and officially announced by the GD in November 2013.
Narmania"s campaign was based on promises to plant one million trees in Tbilisi to bolster the city"s dwindling green space, expand drainage systems, create more recreational areas, and encourage small and medium-size businesses. Melia conceded his defeat, but he claimed the voting process was influenced by the controversial arrest, on 1 July, of Tbilisi"s ex-Mayor Gigi Ugulava, who spearheaded the UNM"s election campaign.
The election was marked by another controversy over the involvement of Narmania"s mother, Nora Todua, in the voting process in the village of Koki, Zugdidi Municipality.
A video released by the UNM depicted Todua, a local election commission member, asking a voter at the precinct to show her a marked ballot paper. Commenting on the issue, Narmania said that his mother did not violate the law and that she was "only motivated by motherly care". The Zugdidi Election Commission eventually issued a warning to Todua.
Narmania assumed his new office on 2 August 2014, becoming the 8th.
He won the mayoral race in Tbilisi as the ruling Georgian Dream coalition candidate in July 2014. In 2012 Narmania joined the Georgian Dream (GD) coalition led by the tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili and took part in devising the coalition"s pre-election economic program