Alla Aleksandrovna Dzhioyeva ( / Džioty Alyksandyry čyzg Allæ; ; born August 23, 1949) is a South Ossetian teacher turned politician, who is currently Deputy Prime Minister in the South Ossetian government. She previously served as the Education Minister in 2002–2008. She won the 2011 presidential election, but the Supreme Court annulled the results, alleging that electoral fraud had been committed. Early life Alla Dzhioyeva was born on August 23, 1949, in Staliniri, South Ossetian AO, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union (now Tskhinvali, South Ossetia). Having graduated from Ttskhinvali's secondary school № 5, she entered the South Ossetian Pedagogical Institute in 1967, but later transferred to Odessa University, which she finished in 1974 with a degree in philology. Dzhioyeva then returned to Tskhinvali to work as a Russian language and literature teacher in school № 2. She eventually became the school's director, occupying this position until 2002. Politician In 2001, Dzhioyeva became a supporter of Eduard Kokoity, one of the candidates in the 2001 presidential election. Having won it, Kokoity appointed Dzhioyeva to be education minister in February 2002. Under her leadership, South Ossetia became more integrated into the Russian system of education: the South Ossetian teachers could be trained in Russia, spaces were allocated in Russian post-secondary institutions for South Ossetian students. On the other hand, Dzhioyeva refused any form of cooperation with Georgia, including the offers of aid. Nevertheless, the country's Georgian language schools continued to function. Dzioyeva is also credited with launching an experimental project to introduce the Ossetic language immersion classes in some schools. Dzhioyeva has been a vocal supporter of reunification of South and North Ossetia; in 2006, she became involved in an intergovernmental group for further integration of the two republics. Criminal prosecution Dzhioyeva was fired by Kokoity on February 4, 2008. The following day, she was charged with several offences and placed under house arrest on March 28. She remained detained until April 29, 2010, when a court found her guilty of fraud and official misconduct, but absolved her of two other charges. She received 24 months' probation and was fined 120,000 rubles. Dzhioyeva appealed to the Supreme Court; the current status of the appeal is unknown. Dzhioyeva has continuously maintained that her arrest and prosecution were politically motivated after she became a vocal critic of Kokoity. 2011 presidential election Dzhioyeva remained an outspoken critic of Kokoity in 2010–2011 and decided to run in