Ella Aleksandrovna Pamfilova (; born 12 September 1953) is a Russian politician, former deputy of the State Duma, candidate for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

in 2000 and former chairman (2004 - 2010) of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights. On 18 March 2014 she became Russia's

Commissioner for Human Rights The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution established in 1999 by the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the council's 46 member states. The ...

, succeeding

Vladimir Lukin Senator Vladimir Petrovich Lukin, sometimes (rarely and erroneously) Lokin, (russian: Влади́мир Петро́вич Луки́н; born 13 July 1937, in Omsk) is a Russian politician who served as Human Rights Commissioner of Russia from F ...

. On 28 March 2016 she became the chair of the Central Election Commission.

Biography

Pamfilova started her career on the central repair and engineering works in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

as an engineer. She was also the first woman to head the country's state controlled pet food company "Belka," which she oversaw from 1984 to 1986. She went on to become a People's Deputy of the USSR and member of Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. During the period 1991 until 1994, she led The Ministry of Social Care under President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

. Between 1994 and 1999, Pamfilova was elected three times as member of the State Duma. In 2000 she was the first woman to run as a candidate in a

Russian presidential election Russian presidential elections determine who will serve as the president of Russia for the next six (formerly four from 1996 to 2012 and five from 1991 to 1996) years. Since the establishment of the position of the President of Russia in 1991, t ...

campaign. However, she faced stiff competition from Yabloko leader

Grigory Yavlinsky Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky ( Russian: Григо́рий Алексе́евич Явли́нский; born 10 April 1952) is a Russian economist and politician. He authored the 500 Days Program, a plan for the transition of the Soviet regim ...

for the liberal vote, and her share of the vote was very low. Since 2004 she has been a head of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

's Human Right Commission. At the State Duma session of October 7, 2009 an MP from

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Russian conservative political party. As the largest party in Russia, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the State Duma , havin ...

, Robert Shlegel, proposed that the president dismiss Pamfilova from the Human Rights Commission for advocating

Alexander Podrabinek Alexander Pinkhosovich Podrabinek (russian: Алекса́ндр Пи́нхосович Подраби́нек; born 8 August 1953, Elektrostal) is a Soviet dissident, journalist and commentator. During the Soviet period he was a human rights ac ...

's rights. The

watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet ...

, 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 Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

References

External links

Web-site of the Council on Civil Society Institutions and Human RightsWeb-site of the Civil G8
1953 births 21st-century Russian women politicians Living people Members of election commissions Soviet politicians Soviet women in politics Pamfilova Pamfilova Ombudsmen in Russia Moscow Power Engineering Institute alumni First convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Second convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) {{Russia-politician-stub Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia