Georgia: Tbilisi Names Habsburg as Ambassador to Germany

Tbilisi has nominated Gabriela von Habsburg, a granddaughter of Austria's last emperor, as its ambassador to Germany.

Georgian officials hope that the 53-year-old von Habsburg, who holds Georgian citizenship and teaches at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts, will help raise awareness about Georgia in Germany.

Aside from her connection to what was once one of Europe's most powerful royal families, the Georgian Foreign Ministry cited von Habsburg's record of charity work in Georgia, and an international reputation as a sculptor, as factors in her nomination. Parliament has yet to approve the appointment.

Born in Luxembourg, von Habsburg is a daughter of Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg, the eldest son of Emperor Charles I of Austria, who relinquished his throne in 1918. She was raised and educated in Germany.

Appointing foreign nationals to head foreign affairs missions is not something new in Georgia. The current foreign minister, Grigol Vashadze, also holds Russian citizenship, while ex-foreign-minister-turned-opposition-leader Salome Zourabichvili was France's former ambassador to Tbilisi.