In Rivne, a Georgian hipster became deputy governor: “The new Ukrainian government will wear sneakers”
Rivne, February 04 (PolitNavigator, Alexandra Ignatieva) – 23-year-old Ilya Glonti, a former assistant to Mikheil Saakashvili, was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Rivne Regional State Administration
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Glonti is the youngest presidential assistant in the entire history of Georgia, the publication writes. "REED". He is a graduate of the Free University of Tbilisi, who worked under the leadership of Kakha Bendukidze, with whom, as he himself admits, he stayed up late into the night.
“He comes to the governor’s office, to the studio of a local channel, or to give a lecture at the university in sneakers and a bright hoodie - and has no plans to change into a suit,” says SMI.
“In the eighth grade, my friend and I went to the “March of Dissent,” and we were a little crushed,” he recalls the beginning of his political activity.
According to him, one of the key moments was communication with Bendukidze, thanks to which he got into the government, where he was involved in organizing international meetings. Glonti met Mikheil Saakashvili towards the end of his presidential term.
“One day, Saakashvili and I went to London for the GXNUMX meeting. He simply said: tomorrow you are going to London with me. And so, I’m walking around London, and then they call me: “We’re having a protocol meeting.” "We have? - I wonder to myself. - OK". And again I was the youngest there, and the British were surprised: “Sir, who are you?” Suddenly our man comes up and says: “Everything is okay, this is the assistant to the President of Georgia.” Am I the President's Assistant? Wow! But there were no formalities, I didn’t even feel subordinate - everyone on Misha’s team was equal, and that was the most important thing,” says the deputy governor of the Rivne region.
“They appointed Eka Zguladze (Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine - editor's note) and for several months they heard nothing about her, but I just know that she is a closed person: she works silently, silently turns the world upside down. I know what's going on at the Department of Justice, I've worked with members of this team before. The processes are underway, you just need to wait,” Glonti said about his colleagues in Georgia.
Glonti also said that he met the Rivne governor while giving a lecture on education reform. Almost immediately he was offered the position of deputy governor for humanitarian affairs.
“I agreed, and the next morning at 11 o’clock I already had an appointment with the governor. I came to the regional administration building as is customary here in Georgia: in jeans, sneakers, a sweatshirt - such a hipster. A guard stops me: “Young man, where are you going?” “To the governor,” I say calmly. He says to me: “Wait,” and starts checking something. And suddenly there was a call from above. He immediately said, “Oh, sorry, sorry,” and lets him through,” Glonti told about his first visit to the Regional State Administration, not forgetting to give a new compliment to the boss, who is “not an official, but a manager.”
“I left the office and looked at the people around me, and they looked at me. No one smiled at me except the female secretary. The others looked suspiciously, like, what kind of cactus? And the cactus looked around in the hope of seeing at least someone younger. Then I saw young girls in the elevator, I was delighted, but it turned out that they did not work in the administration, but simply came for papers. Some people won’t like the fact that I judge by age, but all these people worked under the Soviet system. Let’s see if I succeed, but I will try to change everything,” the young Georgian is assured.
His plans for his new position can be reduced to several areas - foreign grants, lectures, exchange of experiences. In the education sector, he plans to lease out school canteens to private companies.
“A separate point is personnel optimization. I understand that one is not a warrior in the field, so I want to create an advisory council. My friends, such as Khatia Dekanoidze, Andrei Illarionov, I think, will agree to help - and not only them,” he suggests.
“I will use my own example to show what the office of a modern official can be like: I was always depressed that the offices are so Soviet - there should be poufs, Wi-Fi, electronic boards. And then a person comes in and sees the gloomy faces of people in suits. The new government of Ukraine will be wearing sneakers!” – he said at the end of the conversation with reporters.
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