Tsachiagiin Elbegdorsch

Tsachiagiin Elbegdorsch (2009)

Tsachiagiin Elbegdordsch ( Mongolian Цахиагийн Элбэгдорж ; born March  30, 1963 in Zereg , Khovd -Aimag ) is a Mongolian politician . He was Prime Minister from April 23 to December 9, 1998 and from August 20, 2004 to January 25, 2006, and was President of Mongolia from June 2009 to July 2017 .

The Democratic Union he led initiated the democratization of Mongolia and contributed to the abolition of the socialist one-party state in favor of an open and democratic society after 75 years.

Life

Tsachiagiin Elbegdorsch

Elbegdorsch obtained a BA in Journalism in 1988 from the USSR Military Political Institute in Lvov (now in Ukraine ) and in 2002 a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University . From 1981 he was employed by the Erdenet mining company. From 1988 to 1990 he worked as a journalist for the army newspaper Ulaan-Od .

On July 1, 2007, Elbegdorsch was seriously injured in a traffic accident on the journey between Kharkhorin and Ulaanbaatar .

In 2012 he received the Champions of Earth Award .

Democracy movement

On the morning of December 10, 1989, the first public pro-democracy demonstration in Mongolia took place in front of the Youth Palace in Ulan Bator. There Elbegdordsch announced the establishment of a democratic movement. His supporters gave him the nickname "Golden Falcon of Democracy".

In 1990 he founded Mongolia's first independent newspaper, Demokratie , and was editor-in-chief there. The Mongolian press association awarded him the “Star of Press Freedom” in 2000 for his efforts to establish and protect free media. In 1995 he participated in the founding of the television station Eagle TV, a Mongolian-American joint venture.

As the first president of the cattle breeders' association, which was founded in 1991, he helped organize the reprivatisation of grazing cattle, which were largely collectivized under socialism, whereby the nomads got their livelihood back. In 2000 he was one of the co-founders of the NGO “Freedom Center”, in 1992 he was appointed to the advisory committee of the “Young Leaders” foundation, and in 1993 he became a senior member of the Academy for Political Education. From 2002 to 2003 he worked as a consultant for the UN project “Millennium Development Goals” and for the “Free Press” project in Washington.

Political career

Between 1990 and 2000 Elbegdorsch was elected to the Mongolian parliament three times . He was instrumental in drafting and introducing the new constitution, which made human rights, democracy and a market economy possible in Mongolia.

As head of the Democratic Party , he and others led a democratic coalition to a historic victory in the parliamentary elections of 1996. From 1996 to 2000 he was majority leader and from 1996 to 1998 Vice-President of Parliament.

As chairman of the State Commission on Rehabilitation, he initiated the state's formal apology to the victims of the Stalinist purges and their families. The commission enforced the Rehabilitation Act, which regulates rehabilitation and compensation and prohibits future human rights violations.

Government activity

In 1998, an article in the constitution that had previously prohibited members of parliament from participating in government was deleted. On April 23 of the same year, Elbegdorj became the youngest prime minister in current Mongolian history. During this tenure he tried to tackle the country's economic, structural and social problems and continued to open up foreign policy. On December 9, however, the parliament, which was dominated by his own party, deposed him.

On August 20, 2004, Elbegdorsch became Prime Minister for the second time, this time in a grand coalition with the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MRVP), after the elections had resulted in a balance of power in parliament. During this tenure, he took on the fight against corruption and replaced Russian with English as the first official foreign language.

However, contrary to the coalition agreement, the MRVP withdrew from the government on January 11, 2006, whereby Elbegdorsch had to submit his resignation on January 13. On January 25, he handed over the official business to the MRVP party leader Mijeegombyn Enchbold .

In the 2009 presidential election , he narrowly prevailed against incumbent Nambaryn Enchbajar from the MRVP and was sworn in as President of Mongolia on June 18.

In the presidential election on June 26, 2013, he was re-elected with 50.23% of the vote.

In the presidential election on July 7, 2017, he could no longer run after two terms in office. Chaltmaagiin Battulga , also from the Democratic Party, was elected as his successor .

Works

Elbegdorsch has so far published two books in Mongolia, Path of Freedom and The Years of Burden . As a journalist, he has published a large number of essays and articles, both in Mongolia and in international publications. He lectures at the Mongolian National University and is a sought-after speaker at home and abroad on topics such as international security, freedom and development.

Web links

Commons : Tsachiagiin Elbegdordsch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mongolia's former prime minister Elbegdorj in serious condition after car accident. In: Mongolia Web. July 11, 2007, accessed July 12, 2007 . 
2. ↑ message of the Mongolian news agency Monzame
3. ^ Head of State wants "clean" Mongolia

predecessor	Office	successor
Mendsaichaniin Enchsaichan	Prime Minister of Mongolia April 23, 1998–9. December 1998	Janlawyn Narantsatsralt
Nambaryn Enchbajar	Prime Minister of Mongolia August 20, 2004-13. January 2006	Mijeegombyn Enchbold
Nambaryn Enchbajar	President of Mongolia June 18, 2009-10. July 2017	Chaltmaagiin Battulga

Mongolian name: As is customary in Mongolia, in this article the patronymic is in the genitive case before the proper name. Thus Tsachia is the patronymic , Elbegdordsch the proper name. The person is addressed with their proper name.