PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release                                                                                  19 March 2018

Professor Dr. Vasil Sikharulidze Appointed Director of Diplomacy Programs of the New Westminster College of Caucasus University

TBILISI, GEORGIA. The Office of the President of Caucasus University has announced that Professor Dr. Vasil Sikharulidze, M.D., was officially appointed today as Director of Diplomacy Programs of the New Westminster College of Caucasus University with concurrent appointment as Professor of Diplomacy.

Professor Sikharulidze is a distinguished diplomat, medical doctor and psychiatrist. He is the Chairman of the Atlantic Council of Georgia and previously served as Special Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Georgia from 2009 to 2010. He also previously served as the Minister of Defense of Georgia from 2008 to 2009, and as Ambassador of Georgia to the United States, Canada and Mexico from 2005 to 2009.

Professor Sikharulidze graduated in 1993 from Tbilisi State University with a Doctor of Medicine in Psychiatry, and practiced psychiatry from 1993 to 1995 at the Institute of Psychiatry. In 2011, he graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University with a Master of Public Administration degree, and received his professorial appointment as Professor of Diplomacy in 2018 from Caucasus University, where he previously lectured as a distinguished speaker from 2013 to 2016. He has also lectured at Ilia State University and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, and was a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University.

Professor Sikharulidze holds the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and the civil service rank of Actual State Advisor. He held the NATO Fellowship from 2001 to 2003 and received appointment in 2018 as a Distinguished Fellow of the New Westminster College of Caucasus University. He is co-author of the Atlantic Council of Georgia Publication Security Review. Professor Sikharulidze has received numerous honors and decorations and is the recipient of the Order of Vakhtang Gorgasali for his distinguished service to Georgia. He speaks Georgian, English, Russian and French.

“Professor Vasil Sikharulidze has very seasoned experience as a diplomatic leader and valuable insights into the statecraft of diplomacy,” said Professor Robert Goodwin III, Dean of the New Westminster College of Caucasus University. “His professional and academic accomplishments are a shining example of commitment to excellence and amplify the importance of ethical leadership that is both inspirational and unselfish. We are very honoured to have Professor Sikharulidze join us as our Director of Diplomacy Programs, and I look forward to many years of future collaboration with him.”

“I would like to express my gratitude to President Kakha Shengelia and Dean Robert Goodwin III for their invitation to join the faculty and staff of the New Westminster College of Caucasus University,” said Professor Dr. Vasil Sikharulidze. “I look forward to serving as the Director of Diplomacy Programs and Professor of Diplomacy and am excited about the future cooperation with my colleagues and students to deliver world-class executive programs in diplomacy and governance.”