Badra Gunba
{{Short description|President of Abkhazia since 2025}}
{{expand Russian|topic=bio|otherarticle=Гунба, Бадра Зурабович|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Badra Gunba
| native_name = {{nobold|Бадра Гәынба}}
| image = Badra Gunba 2025-05-10 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Gunba in May 2025
| order = 6th
| office = President of Abkhazia
| primeminister = Valeri Bganba (acting)
Vladimir Delba
| vicepresident = Beslan Bigvava
| term_start = 2 April 2025
Acting: 19 November 2024 – 2 April 2025
| term_end =
| predecessor = Aslan Bzhania
| order2 = 7th
| office2 = Vice President of Abkhazia
| president2 = Aslan Bzhania
Himself (acting)
| term_start2 = 23 March 2020
| term_end2 = 2 April 2025
| predecessor2 = Aslan Bartsits
| successor2 = Beslan Bigvava
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|3|14|df=y}}
| birth_place = Sukhumi, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
| alma_mater =
| children = 2
| allegiance =
| branch =
| serviceyears =
}}
Badra Zurabovich Gunba ({{langx|ab|Бадра Зураб-иԥа Гәынба|translit=Badra Zurab-ipha Gwynba}}; {{langx|ru|Бадра Зурабович Гунба}}; born 14 March 1981) is an Abkhazian politician who has been the sixth president of Abkhazia since 2025. He previously served as the seventh vice president under President Aslan Bzhania from 2020 to 2025.
Born in Sukhumi while it was part of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Gunba was educated as an economist at the Saratov State Agrarian University. He became the Deputy Minister of Culture in 2009, and then Minister of Culture in 2011. In 2020, Bzhania selected Gunba to be his running mate for the 2020 presidential election where they both ran as Independents.
Bzhania eventually won the elections and he became president with Gunba becoming vice president on 23 March 2020. In November 2024, protests against Bzhania broke out and he resigned the presidency on 19 November and where Gunba became acting president. In 2025, Gunba ran for the presidential election held in March of that year where he won and was sworn in as president on 2 April.
Early life and education
Badra Gunba was born in Sukhumi, Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, on 14 March 1981. He graduated from the Sokhumi State University in 1998, and became an economics teacher at the Abkhazian State University. In 2003, he graduated from Saratov State Agrarian University with a degree in accounting and auditing.{{sfn|President of Abkhazia}}
From December 2003 to August 2004, Gunba worked for the city government of Saratov as a specialist in its Department of Social Sphere and Apparatus Financing. He held different positions in the financial department of the city from March 2004 to February 2006. He received a PhD from Saratov State Agrarian University in 2007.{{sfn|President of Abkhazia}}
Abkhazia
From January 2009 to October 2011, Gunba was the Deputy Minister of Culture and then as Minister of Culture from January 2011 to January 2014. He became Vice President of Abkhazia in 2020.{{sfn|President of Abkhazia}}
President Aslan Bzhania resigned in November 2024, after protestors seized control of government buildings. Gunda ascended to the presidency and defeated Adgur Ardzinba in the 2025 presidential election.{{sfn|Voice of America|2025}} Russian, which cut off electricity to Abkhazia after Bzhania's resignation, conducted election interference through Sergey Kiriyenko.{{sfn|Vartanyan|2025}}
Gunba appointed Vladimir Delba as prime minister on 3 March 2025.{{sfn|Caucasus Watch|2025}}
Personal life
Gunba has two children with his wife.{{sfn|President of Abkhazia}}
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
=News=
- {{Cite news |date=2 March 2025 |title=Abkhazia's acting leader wins presidential election, state media say |work=Voice of America |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/abkhazia-s-acting-leader-wins-presidential-election-state-media-say/7994512.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250616211627/https://www.voanews.com/a/abkhazia-s-acting-leader-wins-presidential-election-state-media-say/7994512.html |archive-date=16 June 2025 |ref={{harvid|Voice of America|2025}}}}
- {{Cite news |date=3 March 2025 |title=Badra Gunba Wins De-Facto Abkhazian Presidential Elections |work=Caucasus Watch |url=https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/badra-gunba-wins-de-facto-abkhazian-presidential-elections.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250616212332/https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/badra-gunba-wins-de-facto-abkhazian-presidential-elections.html |archive-date=16 June 2025 |ref={{harvid|Caucasus Watch|2025}}}}
=Web=
- {{Cite web |title=Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра Ахада |work=President of Abkhazia |url=https://presidentofabkhazia.org/aps/president/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250616210237/https://presidentofabkhazia.org/aps/president/ |archive-date=16 June 2025 |ref={{harvid|President of Abkhazia}}}}
- {{Cite web |last=Vartanyan |first=Olesya |date=13 February 2025 |title=Moscow Has Run Out of Patience in Abkhazia |work=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2025/02/russia-abkhazia-new-pressure?lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250616212025/https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2025/02/russia-abkhazia-new-pressure?lang=en |archive-date=16 June 2025}}
{{Heads of state of Abkhazia}}
{{Vice Presidents of Abkhazia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunba, Badra}}
Category:Presidents of Abkhazia
Category:Vice presidents of Abkhazia