TBILISI, January 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Georgian
prime minister announced on Friday he had resigned for health
reasons just three months after he was appointed to the post.
"Today I went to the president and asked him to choose
another candidate for the position," Grigol Mgaloblishvili said
live on Georgian TV.
Mgaloblishvili, 35, who was named the head of government
in November, said he had suggested the president appoint
Finance Minister Nika Gilauri as the new prime minister.
The Georgian prime minister, who was ambassador to Turkey
for four years, has been diagnosed with kidney disease and
traveled to Germany for medical treatment in December.
Having returned to Tbilisi on January 17, Mgaloblishvili
felt ill again due to high blood pressure and underwent a week
of treatment in Germany.
Media reports in December said Mgaloblishvili submitted
his resignation after a row with Mikheil Saakashvili during
which the Georgian president hit him in the face and threw a
phone at him.
The president slammed the report as "complete nonsense"
and said the prime minster's illness was due to the "heavy
stress" of the job.
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