Veteran OSCE diplomat killed in road accident in Ukraine

KYIV, 9 April 2003 - Gizo Grdzelidze, Senior Project Officer in the Office of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, was killed on Wednesday morning in an automobile accident near Kyiv. With him was Alexander Kryvenko, President of Public Radio, who also died in the accident.

Mr. Grdzelidze, a veteran Georgian diplomat, served with distinction as Officer in Charge of the Project Co-ordinator's Office in Ukraine for more than a year and had worked for the OSCE for over six years. He was 61 years old.

A life-long member of the diplomatic service of Georgia with ambassadorial rank, he had formerly been Director of the Department of Information for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Georgia. Working closely with Ukrainian governmental agencies as well as other international and non-governmental organizations, Mr. Grdzelidze was involved in the implementation of numerous programmes in Ukraine, especially in support of rule of law and freedom of the media.

Mr. Grdzelidze was well known and respected in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine among government officials and in diplomatic circles, and also among the population at large. Because of his outgoing personality, everyone with whom he came into contact immediately became his friend. He was known only as Gizo to many people.

"Gizo was a person who always thought of others before he thought of himself," said OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine David Nicholas. "He was deeply loved here and he will be missed. The OSCE offers its sincere condolences to his family and to that of Mr Kryvenko."

Mr Grdzelidze is survived by family members in Georgia, Israel and Ukraine.