Mikheil Saakashvili in the context of "President of Georgia"

Ethnic Georgians in Ukraine number around 34,199.

Notable Georgians that lived/worked in Ukraine includes famous poet Davit Guramishvili, Mikheil Saakashvili, who was the governor of the Odesa Oblast from May 2015 until November 2016, and Georgiy Gongadze, a journalist and film director who was kidnapped and murdered in September 2000 near Kyiv.

The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses (Georgian: ვარდების რევოლუცია, romanized: vardebis revolutsia) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections and culminated in the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze, which marked the end of Soviet-era leadership in the country. The revolution derives its name from the climactic moment, when demonstrators led by Mikheil Saakashvili stormed the Parliament session with red roses in hand.

The revolution was led by Shevardnadze's former political allies, Mikheil Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Zhvania. Consisting of twenty days of protests from 3 to 23 November 2003, the Revolution triggered new presidential and parliamentary elections in Georgia, which brought the National Movement–Democrats coalition to the power. The death of Zurab Zhvania in uncertain circumstances and the withdrawal of Nino Burjanadze into opposition eventually established the United National Movement as the single ruling party.

Nino Burjanadze (/niːˈnoʊ bɜːrdʒəˈnɑːdzeɪ/; Georgian: ნინო ბურჯანაძე [nino buɾdʒanadze]; born 16 July 1964) is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008. As the first woman, she served as the acting head of state of Georgia twice; the first time from 23 November 2003 to 25 January 2004 in the wake of Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation during the Rose Revolution, and again from 25 November 2007 to 20 January 2008, after Mikheil Saakashvili stepped down to run in the early presidential election. She withdrew into opposition to Saakashvili as the leader of the Democratic Movement – United Georgia party in 2008. In 2013, she ran in the presidential election, competing against 22 candidates; she ended third with 10 percent of the vote.

The United National Movement (UNM; Georgian: ერთიანი ნაციონალური მოძრაობა, romanized: ertiani natsionaluri modzraoba), is a liberal-conservative political party in Georgia. Tina Bokuchava serves as the party's chairman, while its honorary chairman Mikheil Saakashvili is considered the de facto leader. The UNM's electoral number is 5.

The UNM was founded by Saakashvili in 2001, in opposition to Eduard Shevardnadze's government, rising to power following the Rose Revolution in 2003. During its nine-year rule, the UNM implemented several major reforms. The government focused on rooting out corruption and crime, establishing a free market economy, pursuing a pro-Western foreign policy, and regaining territorial integrity. The latter two put it in direct conflict with Russia exploding into a full-on war in 2008 that resulted in 20% of Georgia's territory being occupied by Russia to this day.