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Raul KhadjimbaRaul Khadjimba (born 1958) is the Vice-President of the Republic of Abkhazia, a de facto independent republic of the Republic of Georgia. He has held that office since February 12, 2005. He had previously served as both deputy prime minister (2001-2002) and defence minister (2002-2003), before succeeding Gennady Gagulia as Prime Minister on April 22, 2003. He remained prime minister until October 2004. He had also served as head of the Abkhaz security service from 1999 to 2001. As then-President Vladislav Ardzinba was seriously ill and did not appear in public during his term, Khajimba acted as a de facto head of state in his absence. In this role, he met a number of political leaders, including Igor Ivanov, foreign minister of Russia. He has been a sharp opponent of reunification with Georgia, and vehemently condemned Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's proposal for a two-state federation in May 2004. Khadjimba was tipped as the favourite to win the October 2004 elections, and was strongly endorsed by both outgoing president Ardzinba and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both men campaigned on his behalf and dedicated significant resources to assisting the Khadjimba campaign. However, opposition candidate Sergei Bagapsh polled more votes on election day, in what was widely attributed as a backlash against the strong Russian influence in his campaign. After the election, both Bagapsh and Khadjimba claimed victory, with Khadjimba alleging that electoral fraud in the pro-Bagapsh Gali region had been responsible for Bagapsh's win. Ardzinba soon dismissed Khadjimba as Prime Minister, replacing him with a compromise candidate, Nodar Khashba, and two months of drawn-out disputes followed, involving public protests, court action and parliamentary proceedings. In December 2004, Khadjimba and Bagapsh came to an agreement which would see the pair run as part of a national unity ticket in repeat elections, with Khadjimba running as Bagapsh's Vice-President. As part of this deal, the position of vice-president was given expanded powers covering defence and foreign affairs. The joint ticket easily won the repeat election, winning more than 90% of the vote. However, in the aftermath of the election win, many analysts have suggested that Khadjimba's executive authority will be somewhat limited under the new arrangement, with Bagapsh and his likely designate for Prime Minister, Alexander Ankvab, likely to maintain ultimate control over the areas of policy nominally assigned to the vice-president. Khadjimba, Raul
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