Niko Nikoladze

Publicist, enlightener, mayor of Poti

1843–1928

Niko Nikoladze (1843–1928) was a publicist and public figure, one of the «Tergdaleulebi», the generation that returned with a European education to renew Georgia. In 1868 he became the first Georgian to earn a doctorate from a European university (Zurich).

He built up Georgian liberal journalism and took part in many economic projects, from railways to the Grozny–Poti oil pipeline.

As mayor of Poti in 1894–1912, Nikoladze turned a small town into a major Black Sea port and trading centre.