French-born woman, Salome Zurabishvili, to become Georgia's new president

A former French ambassador is one of two frontrunners to become the next president of Georgia in an election on Sunday, despite critics questioning her patriotism and language skills.

Salome Zurabishvili, 66, was born into a family of Georgian emigres in France and did not visit Georgia until 1986, when she was in her 30s.

She was appointed France's ambassador to the ex-Soviet nation in 2003 but was poached soon afterwards by Georgia's then president Mikheil Saakashvili to become his foreign minister - only to be dismissed in 2005.

She then set up her own political party, the liberal-leaning Georgia's Way, which she led until 2010 before temporarily quitting Georgian politics and returning to France.

Elected to Georgia's parliament in 2016 as an independent, Zurabishvili's chances of winning on Sunday are helped by the backing of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, controlled by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country's richest man, whose critics say rules it from behind the scenes.

At: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/french-born-woman-frontrunner-to-become-georgias-new-president/ar-BBOSpec

Georgia's President-elect Salome Zurabishvili