- Born:
- June 1, 1958, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (age 68)
- Title / Office:
- president (2005-2009), Mongolia
- prime minister (2000-2004), Mongolia
- Political Affiliation:
- Mongolian People’s Party
Nambaryn Enkhbayar
-
Who is Nambaryn Enkhbayar?
Nambaryn Enkhbayar is a Mongolian politician who held the roles of prime minister (2000–04), speaker of parliament (2004–05), and president (2005–09). He is the first person to have held all three of Mongolia’s top leadership posts.
Enkhbayar's political career began in 1990, and in 1992, he was elected to the State Great Hural. He became prime minister in 2000, following his party's victory in parliamentary elections. After his party failed to win a parliamentary majority in 2004, Enkhbayar was elected speaker of the Great Hural. He was then elected president of Mongolia in 2005. In 2010, Enkhbayar founded the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party.
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When did Nambaryn Enkhbayar serve as president of Mongolia?
Nambaryn Enkhbayar served as president of Mongolia from 2005 to 2009. In this role, he faced a volatile political climate, including protests related to government corruption and legislative election outcomes in 2008, which led to criticism of his handling of the unrest. In the 2009 presidential election, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj defeated Enkhbayar.
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What roles did Enkhbayar have before becoming president?
Before becoming the president of Mongolia in 2005, Nambaryn Enkhbayar held several significant positions. In 1990, he became the first vice chairman of the Mongolian government’s Culture and Art Development Committee. Following the collapse of communism, he was elected to the State Great Hural (parliament) in 1992 and then served as minister of culture from 1992 to 1996.
Enkhbayar was elected chairman of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in 1997 and remained in that role until 2005. After the MPRP won the parliamentary elections in 2000, he became prime minister. In 2004, when the MPRP failed to secure a parliamentary majority, Enkhbayar was elected speaker of the Great Hural.
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What were some major achievements or policies during his presidency?
Nambaryn Enkhbayar served as president of Mongolia from 2005 to 2009. During this time, he faced a volatile political situation, including protests over government corruption and the outcome of legislative elections in 2008, which led to him declaring a state of emergency for several days. Before becoming president, Enkhbayar was the chairman of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP). In 2000, the MPRP won the parliamentary elections, and Enkhbayar became prime minister. In 2004, after the MPRP failed to win a parliamentary majority, he was elected speaker of the Great Hural.
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What challenges did Enkhbayar face while he was president?
During his presidency, Nambaryn Enkhbayar faced a volatile political situation, including violent protests sparked by government corruption and disputed legislative election results in 2008. His response to the unrest, which involved declaring a state of emergency for several days in July 2008, drew criticism. In 2009, Enkhbayar was defeated in the presidential election by Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.
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What did Nambaryn Enkhbayar do after his presidency?
After his presidency in 2009, Nambaryn Enkhbayar remained active in Mongolian politics. In 2010, he founded the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, which shared the name of the former MPRP. However, in 2012, he faced arrest on corruption allegations related to his time as president, claims he argued were politically driven. Enkhbayar was convicted and sentenced to 30 months in 2012 but received a pardon from Pres. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj in 2013. Despite the pardon, he was barred from holding office until late 2017, and his attempt to run in the June election that year was unsuccessful.
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Nambaryn Enkhbayar (born June 1, 1958, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) is a Mongolian politician who served as prime minister (2000–04), speaker of parliament (2004–05), and president (2005–09) of Mongolia. He was the first person to have held all three of Mongolia’s top leadership posts.
Enkhbayar received a B.S. in literature and language in 1980 from the Literature Institute in Moscow. He later completed a training course in English literature and language at Leeds University in England. From 1980 to 1990 he worked for the Association of Mongolian Writers as a translator, editor, head of department, and executive secretary; during the same period he also served as vice president of the Mongolian Translators and Interpreters’ Union. He has translated into Mongolian many works by important Russian and English authors, including Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, Aldous Huxley, and Virginia Woolf.
Enkhbayar’s political career began in 1990, when he became first vice chairman of the Mongolian government’s Culture and Art Development Committee. In 1992, following the collapse of communism in Mongolia, he was elected to the country’s parliament, the State Great Hural, later serving as minister of culture (1992–96). In 1997 he was elected chairman of the formerly communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP), once the sole legal political party in Mongolia; he held the post until 2005. With the party’s victory in parliamentary elections in 2000 he became prime minister. After the MPRP failed to win a parliamentary majority in elections in 2004, Enkhbayar was elected speaker of the Great Hural. He was elected president of Mongolia in 2005.
After taking office, Enkhbayar presided over a volatile political situation that included violent protests over government corruption and the outcome of legislative elections in 2008. He drew criticism for his handling of the unrest, which included declaring a state of emergency that lasted for several days in July 2008. The following year Enkhbayar was defeated by Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj in the presidential election.
Enkhbayar remained involved in politics, and in 2010 he founded the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, taking the name of the former MPRP. Two years later, however, he was arrested on corruption allegations that stemmed from his time as president. Enkhbayar claimed that the charges were politically motivated. He was convicted in 2012 and was ultimately sentenced to 30 months, but in 2013 he was pardoned by Pres. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. However, Enkhbayar was barred from holding office until late 2017, and, when he sought to enter that year’s June election, his candidacy was rejected.