Ex-Milan defender elected new mayor of Tbilisi

CAIRO–23 October 2017: Former AC Milan defender Kakha Kaladze has been elected mayor of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

Kakhaber Kaladze, well known as Kakha Kaladze, joined Milan in 2001, coming from Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine. Kaladze spent nine years full of success with AC Milan, as he achieved with the team two Champion League titles (2003, 2007), an Italian Cup title (2003), an Italian League title, a UEFA Super Cup title (2008), and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.

The 39-year-old retired in 2012 and decided to leave the football world to devote himself to politics, joining the campaign of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili against then-president Mikheil Saakashvili.

The former defender engaged quickly with his political career, becoming the minister of energy in the same year as his football retirement, after Bidzina’s coalition won the parliamentary elections over Saakashvili’s party.

Kaladze decided to resign from the ministry in July 2017 to be able to run for the mayor seat of the Georgian capital Tbilisi, and he succeeded in winning Sunday’s municipal elections with 51 percent of the vote.

Paolo Maldini, the former legendary AC Milan captain who played alongside Kaladze, posted on Kaladze's official Facebook account to congratulate him for his new position.