Constituent Assembly of Georgia

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The Constituent Assembly of Georgia was the national legislature of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. It was elected in February 1919 to ratify the Act of Independence and to adopt Georgia’s first constitution in 1921. The assembly lasted until March 1921, when Soviet troops invaded and Georgia lost its independence.

After the Russian Revolution, Georgia briefly separated from Russia and declared independence in 1918. The Constituent Assembly was elected in free elections held from February 14 to 17, 1919. It had 130 seats and was mainly dominated by the Social-Democratic Party (Mensheviks), which won 109 seats. The National Democrats won 8 seats, the Social-Federalist Party 8, and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party 5; other parties held the remaining seats. Fifteen women ran in the election, and five were elected.

Nikolay Chkheidze of the Social-Democratic Party was chosen president of the Assembly. Ekvtime Takhaishvili (National Democrats), Samson Pirtskhalava (Social-Federalists), and Simon Mdivani (Social-Federalists) served as vice-presidents. On March 21, 1919, Noe Zhordania became head of government.

During its two-year term, the Assembly passed 126 laws on topics such as citizenship, local elections, defense, agriculture, the legal system, education, minority rights, and economic policy. In July 1919, it created a Senate to supervise the administration of laws and resolve legal questions.

The Assembly faced many foreign and domestic challenges during the turbulent period of the Russian Civil War and could not fully implement its programs. In early 1921, as Soviet forces advanced, the Assembly drafted Georgia’s first constitution. It adopted the constitution during the invasion period, and the Assembly held its last sessions in Batumi, with the final meeting on March 21, 1921. On March 24, 1921, the Bolsheviks declared the Assembly dissolved.

The Assembly met in the Plenary Hall of the National Palace in Tbilisi, located at 6 Rustaveli Avenue.