The Rose Revolution of 2003 replaced Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili with Eduard Shevardnadze , who promoted closer ties with Western institutions , including NATO . The 2003 Rose Revolution replaced Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili with Eduard Shevardnadze , who has promoted closer ties with western institutions including NATO . The 2003 Rose Revolution replaced Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze with Mikheil Saakashvili , who has promoted closer ties with western institutions including NATO .