According to Armenian media reports, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wants to see a new speaker in the future parliament. Pashinyan is trying to replace the current speaker of parliament, Alen Simonyan, with Lilit Makunts, Armenia's former ambassador to the USA.
The ruling “Civil Contract” Party will hold a congress on February 15 to approve its election list. The name of the party's candidate for parliamentary speaker will also be announced at the congress. It is already known that this candidate will be Lilit Makunts.
Modern.az presents a brief dossier of Lilit Makunts, citing Armenian sources:
Lilit Kamoevna Makunts was born in Yerevan on November 7, 1983.
In 2003, she graduated from the Faculty of Romance-Germanic Philology at Yerevan State University and received a master's degree from the same faculty in 2005. She holds a doctoral degree in Philology.
In 2015, she participated in summer courses at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the USA.
Since 2005, she has taught at the Russian-Armenian University.
From 2016 to 2018, she worked as a contract employee for the US Peace Corps.
From February to May 2018, she served as the Head of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation at the Russian-Armenian University.
From May 12, 2018, to January 14, 2019, she held the position of Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia.
She is a member of the ruling “Civil Contract” Party.
On December 9, 2018, she was elected a member of parliament. In January 2019, she became the head of the "My Step" parliamentary faction.
On August 2, 2021, Lilit Makunts, who had no diplomatic experience, was appointed Armenia's ambassador to the USA. Her appointment was criticized both within Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora in the USA.
Lilit Makunts was recalled from her position as Armenia's ambassador to the USA on August 8, 2025. Narek Mkrtchyan, the former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, was appointed in her place.
On August 29, 2025, Lilit Makunts was appointed Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Armenia.
A.Qorxmaz
