Lilit Makunts

Lilit Kamo Makunts (Armenian: Լիլիթ Կամոյի Մակունց; born 7 November 1983) is an Armenian philologist and politician who currently serves as the Armenian ambassador to the United States. Earlier, she served as the leader of the ruling My Step Alliance faction in the seventh National Assembly of Armenia and as Minister of Culture in the first cabinet of Nikol Pashinyan.

Lilit Makunts
Լիլիթ Մակունց
Ambassador of Armenia to the United States
Assumed office
2 August 2021
Preceded byVaruzhan Nersesyan
Minister of Culture of Armenia
In office
12 May 2018 – 14 January 2019
PresidentArmen Sarkissian
Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan
Preceded byArmen Amiryan
Succeeded byNazeni Gharibyan (acting)
Member of the National Assembly
In office
14 January 2019 – 10 May 2021
Parliamentary groupMy Step Alliance
Personal details
Born (1983-11-07) 7 November 1983
Yerevan, Armenia SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyCivil Contract
Alma materYerevan State University

Biography and academic career

Makunts was born in the capital of Armenia, in Yerevan, on 7 November 1983. Between 1999 and 2003 she studied Romance and Germanic Philology at Yerevan State University from where she obtained a bachelor's degree. In the same faculty, between 2003 and 2004, she received a master's degree. Lilit Makunts got a candidate degree in philological sciences.[1]

In 2005 she started teaching as an associate professor in the Russian-Armenian University, where she became the head of the Department of International Cooperation in February 2018.[2] She also worked at the Peace Corps from 2016 to 2018.

Political career

For 8 years Makunts was member of the board of the Armenian Liberal Party and was leader of its youth organization between 2004 and 2012.[3]

In the 2012 parliamentary election she ran as a candidate for the Armenian National Congress but did not get a seat in the National Assembly.[4]

On 12 May 2018, on the proposal of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Armen Sarkissian appointed Lilit Makunts Minister of Culture of Armenia.[5][6] In the 2018 parliamentary election she was elected to parliament for the Civil Contract party and was elected leader of the My Step Alliance parliamentary faction in January 2019.

In August 2021, Makunts, who has no prior diplomatic experience, was appointed Ambassador of Armenia to the United States of America.[7] Her appointment was the subject of criticism in Armenia and in the Armenian diaspora due to her lack of diplomatic experience.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. ԵՐԵՎԱՆԻ ՊԵՏԱԿԱՆ ՀԱՄԱԼՍԱՐԱՆ: ԼԻԼԻԹ ԿԱՄՈՅԻ ՄԱԿՈւՆՑ (in Armenian)
  2. Մշակույթի նորանշանակ նախարար Լիլիթ Մակունցի կենսագրությունը (in Armenian)
  3. "Lilit Makunts". ICNC. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  4. ՀԱԿ-ի համամասնական ցուցակը (in Armenian)
  5. ԼԻԼԻԹ ՄԱԿՈՒՆՑԻՆ ՄՇԱԿՈՒՅԹԻ ՆԱԽԱՐԱՐ ՆՇԱՆԱԿԵԼՈՒ ՄԱՍԻՆ (in Armenian)
  6. Staff, Weekly (2018-05-14). "After the Appointment of His New Cabinet, Pashinyan Heads to Sochi and Meets Putin". The Armenian Weekly. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  7. ռ/կ, Ազատություն (2021-08-02). "New Armenian Ambassador To U.S. Appointed". «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» Ռադիոկայան. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  8. "Harut Sassounian says appointment of new Ambassador will negatively impact Armenia and its ties with US". news.am. 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  9. "'A disaster': Naira Zohrabyan slams possible appointment of Lilit Makunts as Armenia's new ambassador to US". www.panorama.am. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
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