Raul Khajimba
Raul Khadjimba (born 1958) is the Prime Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia, a de facto independent republic of the Republic of Georgia.
He had previously served as both deputy prime minister (2001-2002) and defence minister (2002-2003), before succeeding Gennady Gagulia as Prime Minister on April 22, 2003. He had also served as head of the Abkhaz security service from 1999 to 2001.
As President Vladislav Ardzinba is seriously ill and has not appeared in public for more than two years, Khajimba has acted as a de facto head of state in his absence. In this role, he has met a number of political leaders, such as Igor Ivanov, foreign minister of Russia. He has been a sharp opponent of reunification with Georgia, and vehemently condemned Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's proposal for a two-state federation in May 2004.
Khadjimba has been tipped as the favourite to win the November 2004 elections. It had been suggested that Ardzinba may endorse previous Prime Minister Gennady Gagulia as candidate, which would hurt Khadjimba's chances, but this now seems unlikely, after Ardzinba sacked Gagulia as head of his presidential administration.
