Mr Mikhail Saakashvili has secured a resounding win in Georgia's presidential vote, but there is uncertainty over whether the lawyer could deliver on pledges to bring calm and prosperity.
Mr Saakashvili, who claimed victory in emotional celebrations late last night, said he hoped to drag the economy from crisis by fighting corruption, encouraging foreign investment and forging closer ties with Western Europe and the United States.
Civil war and separatist conflicts since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 have battered Georgia's economy and infrastructure and deterred foreign investors. The regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are outside the capital Tbilisi's control.
Analysts say Mr Saakashvili (36) must act fast to tackle these problems after his inauguration on January 25th or risk losing the overwhelming support he gained in the "rose revolution" that toppled veteran leader Mr Eduard Shevardnadze in November.
He has to put relations back onto an even keel with powerful neighbour Russia, which has two military bases in Georgia, maintains peacekeepers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and has invested in Georgia's energy system.
Relations with the former Soviet colonial master have been troubled by Moscow's charges that Georgia is not doing enough to root out Chechen rebels based in its border lands.