Shortly thereafter, Margvelashvili's relations with Ivanishvili and the ruling Georgian Dream party leadership soured to the point of a full split.

[10] After the allegation of electoral fraud brought about street protests and a change of power in the Rose Revolution, the Burjanadze-Democrats merged with the Mikheil Saakashvili-led United National Movement, and Margvelashvili quit politics.

In March 2013, he was accused by the opposition and student groups of political meddling in academia after his ministry revoked authorization of the Tbilisi-based Agrarian University, run by a foundation founded by Kakha Bendukidze, an entrepreneur and ex-minister in the Saakashvili government.

[15] The outgoing President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, expressed skepticism about the nomination, comparing it to Caligula's alleged naming of "his horse to the senate.

[17] Although not obligated by the law, Margvelashvili resigned from his government office, as he put it, to avoid allegations of misuse of administrative resources during the election campaign.

[9] On 27 October 2013, Margvelashvili won the presidential election, getting 62% of the vote and beating the United National Movement's David Bakradze by about 40 percentage points.

[19] After the election, Margvelashvili stressed that deepening ties with Europe would remain Georgia's priority and the government would work towards defusing tensions with Russia in collaboration with the country's international partners.

[20] Margvelashvili was sworn in as the fourth President of Georgia at a ceremony in the courtyard of the Parliament's old building in Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, on 17 November 2013.

Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who became prime minister in December 2015 following Garibashvili's sudden resignation, sought to establish a congenial relationship with the presidency, but Margvelashvili remained a divisive figure within the ruling party.

He was especially critical of the ruling Georgian Dream's position in the ongoing constitutional reform process, which he denounced as a tool to weaken the presidency.

Margvelashvili stated that the GD's winning the constitutional majority in the 2016 parliamentary election implied "a threat of concentration of power", but at the same time "opened up opportunities for bold reforms and initiatives".

[28] In May 2018, Margvelashvili walked out on political debates following his annual state of the nation address, after the Parliament's chairman Irakli Kobakhidze rejected the President's request to allow him to respond to the questions raised by the lawmakers.

[31] On 3 December 2018, he hosted the President-elect Salome Zourabichvili at his residence and boasted the meeting as the precedent of "the democratic transition of Presidential power" in Georgia's history.

After a major conservative backlash over a Georgian national football team captain Guram Kashia wearing a pride armband in support of community, Margvelashvili wrote a Facebook post saying: "Everyone has the right for freedom of expression.

[37] After retiring from politics, Margvelashvili, together with his family, has mostly lived in the provincial town of Dusheti, where he has started renting out to foreign tourists a cottage near his own house to supplement his income.

[41] When former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was imprisoned in October 2021 on charges of abuse of power and violence, Margvelashvili has led an effort to free his predecessor from prison.

On 10 September 2014, Margvelashvili married at the town of Dusheti[44] his long-time partner Maka Chichua (born 31 March 1971), formerly a makeup artist and occasional singer and actress.