On January 25, 2004, Mikhail Saakashvili was inauguarated as Georgia’s
new president, taking the presidential oath in front of the parliament
building where two months before, he led protesters who evicted
longtime former President Eduard Shevardnadze.
Four huge white and red medieval banners used by Saakashvili’s
opposition movement were hanging in front of the parliament.
After he was sworn in, Saakashvili signed an act making the
medieval banner shown above Georgia’s new official flag.
In a symbolic gesture to underline Georgia's European aspirations,
Saakashvili, surrounded by a coloful group of children in national
costumes, hoisted the flag of the European Union next to Geogia’s
new flag immediately after taking oath. “Georgia has been
a European country since the ancient times,” Saakashvili
told thousands of people who gathered in front of the parliament.
“It’s not accidental that we raised the European
flag today, it’s also our flag.”
