Georgian prime minister fires seven ministers in first reshuffle

Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili fired five ministers on Monday and moved two to other ministerial positions in the first cabinet reshuffle since coming to power two years ago. None of the major positions changed hands. The coalition government, initially headed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, came to power in 2012, when his Georgian Dream group defeated a party of former president Mikheil Saakashvili. In November, when Georgian Dream's Georgy Margvelashvili was elected president, Ivanishvili stepped down for his ally Garibashvili to take over the more powerful role of prime minister. Garibashvili said the reshuffle, which did not affect key ministers, was needed to give a new energy to the government and to increase its efficiency. ‘We need to double our energy, motivation and efficiency in order to deliver with all of the promises pledged by the Georgian Dream,’ Garibashvili said in a statement, according to Reuters.