The National Security Council (NSC) of Georgia was established under President
Eduard Shevardnadze on 24 January 1996. The respective law defined the council as an advisory body of the President of Georgia for decision-making on strategic questions of the organisation of military construction and defence, international and foreign policy related to the security of the country, maintenance of stability, law and order. The National Security Council included the minister of state (later the
prime minister), the
minister of foreign affairs, the
minister of defense, the minister of state security (abolished in 2004), the
minister of internal affairs, and the secretary of the NSC. The president served as the chairperson of the Council. The
chairperson of Parliament and those of the supreme representative bodies of the
Abkhazia and
Adjara autonomous republics, though not members, were to participate in the NSC activities. The decision was criticized by the then-President
Giorgi Margvelashvili, the incumbent NSC secretary
David Rakviashvili, and foreign commentators such as Ronald S. Mangum. In April 2019, the NSC was reestablished under the leadership of Prime Minister. It also includes seven other permanent members: ministers of defense, internal affairs, foreign affairs, and finances, as well as heads of state security and intelligence services, and the
chief of defense forces. The reconstituted council had its inaugural meeting on 1 May 2019. == National Defense Council ==