Irina Khakamada

Biography

Irina Khakamada is a Russian economist, politician, and journalist, born to a Japanese father who defected to the Soviet Union in 1939 and a Russian mother who was an English schoolteacher. She has held various public offices, including a seat in the State Duma and co-chair of the Union of Right Forces party. A former presidential candidate and rapporteur to the UN General Assembly, Khakamada was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.