of Georgia) among them. In 1996, Baramidze was elected chairman of the parliamentary faction of the Union of Citizens of Georgia. A year later, he started joint Georgian government-UNDP program on Corruption Investigation Center becoming its first director. From 1998 through 1999, Baramidze worked as an Associate Researcher at Institute for the Study of Diplomacy of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., conducting research on U.S. government policy, structures and functions as well as on political, military and defense issues in Caucasus. In 1999, he worked with Senator Carl Levin in the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. Upon his return to Georgia in 1999, he was re-elected to the parliament from Didube district and elected Chairman of the Defence and Security Committee in 2000 and Chairman of the Faction of the United Democrats of Parliament of Georgia in 2002, subsequently playing a pivotal role in the Rose Revolution in November 2003. In 2003 parliamentary elections, Baramidze was re-elected from the same district of Tbilisi from bloc Burjanadze-Democrats. After the 2003 Revolution Baramidze became a key player in Saakashvili's administration and influenced Georgian foreign policy for the 9 years UNM governance. Ministerial positions With the new government in power in late 2003, he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia. He was seen as a member of the government faction grouped around the then Prime Minister (and Rose Revolution leader) Zurab Zhvania that were seen to be in opposition to the President Mikheil Saakashvili. As such he publicly cast doubt upon the official explanation for Zhvania's death due to carbon monoxide poisoning and instead appeared to endorse the possibility of foul play stating "none of the versions [of explanation for his death] should be ruled out." In June 2004, he was appointed Minister of Defense replacing Gela Bezhuashvili. In December 2004, he was moved to the post of Vice Premier and State Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration. Return to the Parliament In August 2012, Baramdize resigned from his government position in order to run as the United National Movement's majoritarian candidate in Batumi in the 2012 parliamentary election. The election saw the defeat of the UNM by the Georgian Dream coalition and Baramidze lost the Batumi race, but he obtained a seat in the new parliament through a party list. On October 21, 2012, he was elected as one of the vice-speakers of the Parliament of Georgia from bloc "United