Sandra Roelofs

Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs-Saakashvili (also spelled Saakasjvili;Template:Efn Template:Née; born 23 December 1968) is a Dutch-Georgian activist and diplomat who was the First Lady of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, when her husband Mikheil Saakashvili was president of the country.

Biography

Roelofs was born in Terneuzen, Netherlands. In 1991, she graduated in French and German languages from the Erasmushogeschool in Brussels and in 1993 attended courses at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg. She met Mikheil Saakashvili in 1993<ref name=r1/> in Strasbourg and later that year moved to New York City where she worked at Columbia University and a Dutch law firm. In 1996, the couple came to Georgia, where Roelofs worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tbilisi.<ref name=bio/>

From 1999 to 2003, Roelofs was a visiting lecturer of French language at Tbilisi State University and was a radio correspondent for Dutch radio. Beyond her native Dutch, Roelofs speaks French, English, German, Russian, and Georgian.<ref name=bio/>

Roelofs acquired Georgian citizenship in January 2008 and is a dual Dutch-Georgian citizen.<ref name=r2>Рецензия на книгу Сандры Рулофс "Первая леди Грузии. Рассказ идеалистки". perevodika.ru. 17 March 2010</ref>

Roelofs ran as a candidate for the United National Movement in the 2016 Georgian parliamentary election. She ran in the Zugdidi district and was number two on the party list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The United National Movement won 27 (nationwide) party list seats.<ref>Preliminary Results Reveal Three Parties to Gain Seats in Georgia's Parliament Template:Webarchive, Georgia Today. 11 October 2016.</ref> The initial Zugdidi district vote of 8 October 2016 was nullified in several polling stations and a repeat vote was held there on 22 October 2016 and again Roelofs placed second in the district.<ref name="UNM's Sandra Roelofs">Template:Cite web</ref> Roelofs refused to participate in the Zugdidi district 30 October 2016 second round run-off election claiming the official results were falsified (adding not only in this election district but in the whole country).<ref name="UNM's Sandra Roelofs"/> On 7 November 2016, she also gave up her party list seat and thus did not become an MP in the Georgian parliament.<ref>Saakashvili's wife rejects seat in Georgian parliament, Kyiv Post. 7 November 2016.</ref>

Roelofs and Saakashvili have two sons, Eduard (b. 1995) and Nikoloz (b. 2005).<ref name=r1/>

A few days before Saakashvili's October 2021 return to Georgia he recorded a video on Facebook with Ukrainian MP Yelyzaveta Yasko in which they disclosed they were having a romantic relationship.<ref>Template:In lang Saakashvili and his girlfriend from the "Servant of the People" recorded a video in case of arrest, Ukrayinska Pravda (1 October 2021)</ref> A few days later Yasko remarked that Sandra Roelofs was Saakashvili's "ex-wife".<ref>Template:In lang YASKO ON RELATIONS WITH SAAKASHVILI: HE IS GRATEFUL TO HIS EX-WIFE, BUT IT IS TIME TO MOVE FORWARD, Tablo ID (2 October 2021)</ref> There had been no media reports that Saakashvili and Roelofs had divorced.<ref name="771956Roelofs"/> Roelofs had been "caught by surprise" by Yasko's and Saakashvili's video announcement and remarked on Facebook (on 7 October 2021) that "its form was absolutely unacceptable."<ref name="771956Roelofs">Saakashvili's official spouse demands his release from prison, Interfax-Ukraine (7 October 2021)</ref>

Roelofs autobiographical book The Story of an Idealist (2005)<ref name=r1>Саакашвили сделал предложение Сандре Рулофс ровно 20 лет назад. newsgeorgia.ru. 17 November 2013</ref><ref name=r2/> has been translated into Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Turkish, Azerbaijani and English.

Charity work

In 1998, Roelofs founded charity foundation SOCO which has the primary focus of implementing the programs funded by western European and Georgian companies and individuals and is aimed at supporting low income families.<ref name=r2/> Since setting new targets in 2007, SOCO has been actively taking care of reproductive health and child welfare in Georgia. In 2007, Roelofs founded Radio Muza, the first Georgian radio dedicated solely to classical music.

During her period as first lady of Georgia, she was Stop TB Partnership Ambassador as well as a Goodwill Ambassador promoting Millennium Development Goals for WHO Europe. She was serving at the Board of the Global Fund fighting Aids, TB and Malaria from 2012 to 2015.Template:Citation needed

Roelofs set up breast and cervical cancer screening programs in Georgia, as well as prenatal screening and promoted palliative care and awareness about rare diseases, safety belts and healthy lifestyle.Template:Citation needed

External links

• Caspian Business News article on Roelofs