Tkeshelashvili was born on 16 October 1969 in
Tbilisi,
Georgia. From 1987-1989, he served in the
Soviet Army. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he worked as the head, political secretary and deputy chairman of the Regional Department of the
Citizens' Union's Youth Branch from 1993-1995, serving as the organization's press secretary from 1994 to 1995. In 1995, he was elected to the
Georgian Parliament becoming deputy majority leader. A year later, Tkeshelashvili graduated from
Tbilisi State University with a degree in Law. From 1998-2002, he was the chairman of the youth branch of the Citizen's Union. In 1999, he was re-elected to the parliament, working as chairman of the Subcommittee for Relations with Media and Non-governmental Organizations of the Human Rights Committee from 1999 through 2003. In 2004, Tkeshelashvili was re-elected as MP for the third term from
National Movement - Democrats. The following year, he won
Edmund S. Muskie scholarship, subsequently obtaining
LLM from
Emory University in 2006. At the university, he was conferred with
Sheth Distinguished International Alumni Award. ==Political career==