Devi Chankotadze

Devi Chankotadze (Georgian: დევი ჭანკოტაძე, born on September 1, 1961) is a Georgian military leader and politician who served as Georgia's Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces in 2008–2012, and has served as a member of the Parliament since 2020. He carries the rank of Lieutenant General.

Starting his military career during the Soviet Union, he joined a volunteer militia based in Tbilisi in 1990 as Soviet forces began to disintegrate, before becoming a member of the newly formed National Guard. With several conflicts ravaging Georgia in the early 1990s, he became head of the National Guard's Artillery Regiment and took part in the wars in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and the civil conflict that opposed ousted president Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Eduard Shevardnadze. In 2000, he became First Deputy Chief of Staff and served while Georgia took part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and during the Pankisi Gorge crisis.

After a brief departure from service, Chankotadze returned to the military in 2007 and served as the Land Forces' Artillery Brigade Commander during the 2008 Russo-Georgia War. Distinguished for his leadership during the Battle of Tskhinvali, Chankotadze was appointed as Chief of the Joint Staff later that same year, serving until 2012. Under his leadership, Georgia sent a large contingent to participate in the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan, launched several reforms to address the shortcomings of the war, and increased international cooperation in military education. In 2009, Lieutenant General Chankotadze took part in the response to the Mukhrovani Base mutiny.

Retiring in 2013, Chankotadze reappeared in the public eye as a critique of the Georgian Dream government in 2018. In 2020, he was elected to Parliament on the United National Movement's electoral list, making him the second former Chief of Staff to serve in the 10th Convocation of Parliament (the other being Vladimer Chachibaia).