Order:	2nd President
Took Office:	December 18, 2001
Left Office:	N/A
Predecessor:	Lyudvig Chibirov
Successor:	incumbent
Date of Birth:	October 31, 1964
Place of Birth:	Tskhinvali, Soviet Union
Date of Death:	N/A
Place of Death:	N/A
Political party:	none

Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoity (surname also rendered as Kokoyty or Kokoiti or in a Russified version as Kokoyev) is the current President of South Ossetia, a de facto (though internationally unrecognized) independent state within the Republic of Georgia. Born in 1964, Kokoity is a former member, and champion, of the Russian national wrestling team. Prior to 1989, he was the First Secretary of the Tskhinvali branch of the Komsomol, the Young Communists League. He moved to Moscow in 1992 where he became a businessman, before moving back to South Ossetia in 2001. Eduard Kokoity Screen grab from TV This work is copyrighted. ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tskhinval (also spelled Cchinval) ცხინვალი, os. ... Russian (русский язык   listen?) is the most widely spoken language of Europe and the most widespread of the Slavic languages. ... Official language Ossetian Capital Tskhinvali President Eduard Djabeevich Kokoity Prime Minister Igor Viktorovich Sanakoyev Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % water  3,900 km²  n/a Population  â€“ Total  â€“ Density (2004)  70,000 (approx)  18/km² Independence  â€“ Declared  â€“ Recognition From Georgia  â€“ November 28, 1991  â€“ none Currency Russian ruble, Georgian lari Time zone UTC +3 Detailed... Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო Sakartvelo), known from 1991 to 1995 as the Republic of Georgia, is a country to the east of the Black Sea in the southern Caucasus. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tskhinval (also spelled Cchinval) ცხინვალი, os. ... Komsomol (Комсомол) is a syllabic abbreviation word, from the Russian Kommunisticheski Soyuz Molodiozhi (Коммунистический союз молодёжи), or Communist Union of Youth. The organisation served as the youth wing of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ( CPSU), the youngest members being fourteen years old, the upper limit for an age... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

He was elected at the age of 38 with a large majority in the presidential elections of November-December 2001. In the first round of the elections on November 18, 2001, he collected 45% of the votes, Stanislav Kochiev 24%, and incumbent Lyudvig Chibirov 21%. He won 53% of the vote against 40% for Stanislav Kochiev in the second round on December 6 and took office on December 18. November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years), with 43 remaining. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Kokoity's victory was unexpected but owed much to the backing of the Tedeyev clan, one of South Ossetia's most powerful families. He had gained key backing from Albert "Dik" Tedeyev and his brother Jambulat, a world wrestling champion and trainer of Russia's wrestling team, who organised and financed Kokoity's election campaign. The clan had previously supported Lyudvig Chibirov but broke off support for him after he attempted to move against them. After Kokoity was elected president, members of the Tedeyev clan took over responsibility for the republic's customs service and for freight traffic along the Transcaucasian highway. As well as being the main economic lifeline between South Ossetia and Russia, the highway is a major route for smuggling and for the drugs and arms trade. Revenues from the highway provide much of the South Ossetian government's revenue.

In July 2003, Kokoity moved against the Tedeyevs, sacking Albert Tedeyev from his position as secretary of the security council, and ordered their private militias to disarm. According to Kokoity, the security council secretary as well as the defence and security chiefs had links with criminals. The affair prompted an outbreak of gunfire in Tskhinvali but no casualties were reported. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Kokoity has taken a strong position against reunification with Georgia, although he has expressed a willingness to negotiate a peace settlement on the basis of South Ossetia being treated as an independent state (a precondition rejected by the Tbilisi government). Following a tense stand-off with the central Georgian authorities in July 2004, he claimed "Georgia wants war. But we are ready for self-defense." View of Tiflis from the Grounds of Saint David Church, ca. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• List of Georgians