Iulon Gagoshidze (Georgian: იულონ გაგოშიძე) (born 17 July 1935[1]) is a Georgian historian,[2] archaeologist,[3] scholar and politician who served as the State Minister for Diaspora Issues in the Government of Georgia from November 2007[4] to December 2009, when he was moved to lead the recently created Archeological Research Center at the President's Administration.
[5] As a scholar, Gagoshidze is chiefly known for his excavations at Dedoplis Mindori and studies of the Achaemenid relics in Georgia.
He graduated from the Department of History of Tbilisi State University in 1958[6] and obtained a Doctorate in Historical Sciences in 1985.
[7] Beginning in 1968, Gagoshidze has led various archaeological expeditions to Israel, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Georgia's Ksani river valley, Samadlo, Dedoplistsqaro and other localities.
[8] He became a member of the advisory board of the Ancient West and East (Leiden-Boston-Cologne) in 2002.