Marģers Skujenieks was born in a family of Vensku Edvarts (real name Eduards Skujenieks), a notable publicist and a poet, and Luīze Skujeniece (daughter of Juris Alunāns), the first female Latvian theatre critic.
Skujenieks became a Social Democrat in 1903, but he never supported the concept of international class struggle, where nationality would be of no importance.