Background
Edmon Marukyan was born on January 13, 1981 in Kirovakan, Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union.
Edmon Marukyan was born on January 13, 1981 in Kirovakan, Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union.
He attended School #6 of his home town Vanadzor, then served in the Armenian Army. Marukyan graduated from the Institute of Commerce and Law in Moscow in 2002 with a Bachelor of Law degree.
In 2006 he received qualification of a Specialist for the Protection of Human Rights and Interests in the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights of Warsaw. In 2007 he left the Academy of Public Administration of the Republic of Armenia with a Master of Law degree. Three years later, in 2010 Marukyan received an Master of Laws and was a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow studying Human Rights and International Law at the University of Minnesota Law School.
Along with legal education, Marukyan participated in numerous specialized training courses in Armenia, Poland, Hungary, the United States, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Germany, and Russia.
Since 2001, Marukyan is actively involved in human rights activism in Armenia. He has been the head of several non-government human rights organizations.
From 2007 to 2008 he lectured Philosophy and Political Science at the Vanadzor State Pedagogical Institute. He is also author of articles and reports on human rights in Armenia.
The 2012 parliamentary election was held on May 6.
The official campaign started a month earlier, during which Marukyan said he walked from neighborhood to neighborhood. Armenian media widely responded to his election, calling him the "Bright Spot", "Kinder Surprise" of the May 6th election. On May 8, 2012, just two days after the election Marukyan announced that he will not join any fraction.
Since 2008 Marukyan is a member of the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia. He defeated Republican Viktor Dallakyan, which was an independent candidate for past 4 elections and became a member of the ruling party just months prior to the election.