Mamuka Mdinaradze, one of the longtime leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party, has resigned as Minister of Regional Development and said he is leaving politics.

Speaking at a briefing at the Georgian Government Administration on Thursday, Mdinaradze said he had discussed his decision with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday, as well as with Kobakhidze and Georgian Dream honorary chair Bidzina Ivanishvili together on Thursday morning.

Mdinaradze denied that his resignation was connected to statements made by imprisoned former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili. Gharibashvili has named Mdinaradze in two of four letters published so far, alleging that Mdinaradze conveyed a demand that he confess to specific corruption crimes to prevent him from returning to politics.

Mdinaradze said his decision was his own initiative and that he had been considering leaving politics for several weeks.

‘I have made the decision to leave my position, and in principle, politics as well’, Mdinaradze said, thanking Georgian Dream members and leaders, including Ivanishvili.

He said that he might return to politics if the ruling party needed him and there was no other option.

‘At this stage, I am not telling you that I am going to return. If the team really needs me and there is no other way out, I will return only in this case’, he said.

Mdinaradze added that he wanted to spend more time with his family after a decade in politics.

‘I think that I deserve some rest and to take care of my family and myself’, he said.

He also said he might try working in the private sector, including business.

‘Perhaps more in the private sector, maybe I will try my hand at business’, Mdinaradze said.

Gharibashvili has alleged that, ‘on the instructions of Bidzina Ivanishvili’ and through Mdinaradze’s mediation, he was pressured to confess to corruption crimes in order to prevent him from entering politics in the future.

Mdinaradze rejected the claims and said he had never sent Gharibashvili a letter.

‘Not to Gharibashvili — I have never sent any kind of letter to anyone in my life, except for phone messages’, he said.

On 24 August, Gharibashvili was charged with new corruption offences carrying a prison sentence of 11 to 15 years.

Over the past year, Mdinaradze has held three different positions.

Mdinaradze served as Georgian Dream’s parliamentary leader from 2016 until 2025, becoming one of the most recognisable figures in the ruling party.

In September 2025, he was appointed head of the State Security Service (SSG), Georgia’s domestic intelligence agency, a position he held for more than six months.

On 21 April, Kobakhidze announced that Mdinaradze would become Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for the Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies.

His appointment to the state ministerial post after leaving the SSG raised questions within ruling circles about a possible decline in his influence.

On 29 July, Kobakhidze announced that Mdinaradze would become State Minister for Regional Policy. The new position was scheduled to be created in September, but Mdinaradze was subsequently appointed Minister of Regional Development.