May 25, 2014 Presidential Election
OP-ED
Brian Mefford: Why Saakashvili’s appointment as Odesa’s governor actually makes perfect sense
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) shaking hands with newly appointed Odesa governor and former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili during their meeting in Kyiv.
On May 30, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko named former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Governor of the Odesa Oblast. There are a number of ways to interpret the bold move, but two historical analogies may be more apt: Saakashvili is either following in Duke of Richelieu's footsteps as an outside Governor of Odesa or the late CIA Director Richard Helms' path. Ukrainian politics are murky, but in Saakashvili's case, the motivation behind his appointment looks like a mixed bag. Saakashvili has been simultaneously promoted and exiled.
