List of Famous people born in Imereti, Georgia

Joseph Orbeli was a Soviet-Armenian orientalist and academician who specialized in medieval history of Transcaucasia and administered the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad from 1934 to 1951. Of Armenian descent, he was the founder and first president of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences (1943–47).

Revaz Valerianovic Gamkrelidze is a Georgian and Soviet mathematician known for his work in optimal control theory and related fields. Gamkrelidze is a member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is the founding editor of Encyclopaedia of Mathematical Sciences.

Tengiz Abuladze was a Georgian film director, screenwriter, theatre teacher and People's Artist of the USSR. He is regarded as one of the best Soviet directors.

Solomon II, of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was the last King of Imereti from 1789 to 1790 and from 1792 until his deposition by the Imperial Russian government in 1810.

Ramaz Shengelia was a Georgian and Soviet football player.

Mikheil Ashvetia is a Georgian former footballer. He has played mostly in Georgia and Russia, except for a short spell at FC København in 2001–2002 and a recent spell in Germany with FC Carl Zeiss Jena. In Russia he has played for Alania Vladikavkaz, Lokomotiv Moscow, Rubin Kazan and FC Rostov. While playing for Lokomotiv, he scored a notable Champion League 2003–04 goal against Inter Milan making a score 2–0 for Lokomotiv. His team went ahead and won the game with an impressive 3–0 result.

Zacharia Petres dze Paliashvili, also known as Zachary Petrovich Paliashvili, was a Georgian composer. Regarded as one of the founders of the Georgian classical music, his work is known for its eclectic fusion of folk songs and stories with 19th-century Romantic classical themes. He was the founder of the Georgian Philharmonic Society and later, the head of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire. The Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi was named in his honor in 1937. Notably, Paliashvili's music serves as the basis of the National Anthem of Georgia.

Irakli Abashidze was a Georgian poet, literary scholar and politician.

Omar Pkhakadze was a Georgian sprint cyclist. He competed for the Soviet Union at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished in fourth and third place in 1968 and 1972, respectively, winning the first Soviet Olympic medal in sprint cycling. In 1965 he also became the first Soviet sprinter to win a world title; he finished third in 1966 and second in 1969. During his career he won 10 national titles – in 1963, 1964 and 1966–1973.

Vasil Pavlovich Mzhavanadze was a Georgian Soviet politician who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Georgian SSR from September 1953 to September 28, 1972 and a member of the CPSU's Politburo from June 29, 1957 to December 18, 1972. Dismissed after a corruption scandal, he was replaced by Eduard Shevardnadze.