Ella Pamfilova

File:Ella Pamfilova.jpg

2009

Ella Aleksandrovna Pamfilova (Элла Александровна Памфилова; born 12 September 1953, Almalyk) is a Russian politician, former deputy of the State Duma, candidate for president in 2000 and former chairman (2004 - 2010) of the Civil Society Institution and Human Rights Council of the Russian Federation. On 18 March 2014 she became Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights, succeeding Vladimir Lukin.

Biography

Pamfilova started her career on the central repair and engineering works in Moscow as an engineer. She went on to become a People's Deputy of the USSR and member of Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

During the period 1991 until 1994, she led The Ministry of Social Care under President Boris Yeltsin. Between 1994 and 1999, Pamfilova was elected three times as member of the Russian Duma.

In 2000 she was the first woman to run as a candidate in a Russian presidential election campaign. However, she faced stiff competition from Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky for the liberal vote, and her share of the vote was very low.

Since 2004 she has been a head of Vladimir Putin's Human Right Commission.

At a State Duma session of October 7, 2009 a MP from United Russia, Robert Shlegel, proposed that the president dismiss Pamfilova from the Human Rights Commission for advocating Alexandr Podrabinek’s rights. The watchdog, led by Pamfilova, had called the protests “a persecution campaign … organized by irresponsible adventurists from Nashi” and said the activists were showing open signs of extremism.

External links

• Web-site of the Council on Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights
• Web-site of the Civil G8