Act of Independence of Georgia, 1918

On 26 May 1918 the Democratic Republic of Georgia was proclaimed — the first modern Georgian statehood.

1918

The Act of Independence of Georgia was adopted by the National Council of Georgia on 26 May 1918 in Tbilisi. It proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Georgia, the first modern Georgian state — after the collapse of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.

The document had a constitutional-legal character and served as the basic law until the 1921 Constitution. It affirmed Georgia's sovereignty and independence, a democratic-republican form of government, permanent neutrality, and equal political rights for all citizens «irrespective of nationality, creed, social rank or sex».

The text was drafted by Noe Zhordania and Zurab Avalishvili; Zhordania proclaimed it. Two days later Armenia and Azerbaijan declared their independence.

The republic lasted until February–March 1921, when it was occupied by the Red Army. The 1991 Act of Restoration of Independence rested directly on the 1918 act. The original is held at the National Archives of Georgia.