Nambaryn Enkhbayar

Nambaryn Enkhbayar (Mongolian: Намбарын Энхбаяр; born June 1, 1958) is a Mongolian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Mongolia from 2000 to 2004, as Speaker of the Parliament from 2004 to 2005, and as President of Mongolia from 2005 to 2009. He is the first person to have held all of the top three positions in the Mongolian government. He was the chairman of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 1997 to 2005.[1]

This is a Mongolian name. The given name is Enkhbayar, and Nambar is a patronymic, not a family name.

His Excellency Nambariin Enkhbayar
Намбарын Энхбаяр
3rd President of Mongolia
In office 24 June 2005 – 18 June 2009
Prime Minister	Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Miyeegombyn Enkhbold Sanjaagiin Bayar
Preceded by	Natsagiin Bagabandi
Succeeded by	Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
21st Prime Minister of Mongolia
In office 26 July 2000 – 20 August 2004
President	Natsagiin Bagabandi
Preceded by	Rinchinnyamyn Amarjargal
Succeeded by	Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
Chairman of the State Great Khural
In office August 2004 – June 2005
Preceded by	Sanjbegz Tömör-Ochir
Succeeded by	Tsendiin Nyamdorj
Chairman of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party
In office 6 June 1997 – 22 November 2005
Preceded by	Natsagiin Bagabandi
Succeeded by	Miyeegombyn Enkhbold
General Secretary of the Mongolian People's Party
In office 5 October 1996 – 7 February 1997
Preceded by	Büdragchaagiin Dash-Yondon
Succeeded by	Natsagiin Bagabandi
Personal details
Born	(1958-06-01) 1 June 1958 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Political party	Mongolian People's Party (-2010) Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (2010-)
Spouse(s)	Onongiin Tsolmon
Children	4
Alma mater	Maxim Gorky Literature Institute

Nambaryn Enkhbayar and U.S. President George W. Bush sign the MCC Agreement in October 2007

Early life and education

Nambaryn Enkhbayar was born on 1 June 1958 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He finished a secondary school in 1975, and earned an undergraduate degree majoring in literature and language studies from Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow, Russia in 1980. He studied at an English language and literature course[2] at Leeds University in the United Kingdom in 1985–1986.[3] Enkhbayar became the chairman of the Association of Mongolian Writers in 1990. He is married to Onongiin Tsolmon since 1987 and they have four children.[4]

Legislative career

In 1992, as a member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) Enkhbayar was elected to the State Great Khural (Mongolian Parliament). Mongolia voted to retain former communist MPRP during its first venture into democratic elections, and Enkhbayar was appointed to serve as the country's Minister of Culture. He held that post until 1996, when the Democratic Party ousted the MPRP in the parliamentary elections that year. In 1996 Enkhbayar became the secretary general of the MPRP and led the opposition MPRP group in the Parliament. In 1997 he was elected as the chairman of the MPRP.[5]

Prime Minister

In 1999, the country was hit by one of its infamous zud spells, when summer draught and cold weather blizzards resulted in severe food shortages and loss of thousands of livestock. The government responded poorly to the disaster and the MPRP received an unexpected boost from the climatological disaster.[6] Enkhbayar's leading MPRP won 2000 parliamentary elections winning 72 out of 76 seats.[7] The MPRP controlling the parliament, Enkhbayar became the country's Prime Minister. He initiated an ambitious Millennium Road project to connect Mongolian territory from east to west.[4] During Enkhbayar's time as Prime Minister, he successfully eliminated Mongolia's debt to the former Soviet Union, and this was the first time since the 1920s that Mongolia did not owe debt to its northern neighbor,[8] while it was controversial debt due to Mongolia being a raw material supplier to Soviet Union[9] pricing the materials almost free for former USSR. Thanks to international exposure of Mongolia's vast mineral resources, the economy experienced 10% real GDP growth in 2004.[10]

Speaker of Parliament

In 2004, MPRP lost to Motherland Democratic Coalition-a coalition of Democratic Party and Motherland Party. Due to election result where none of the coalition and the MPRP became the enough majority to hold the government, grand coalition government was formed and Enkhbayar became the Speaker of the Parliament and served on this post in 2004–2005.[4]

President

He won 2005 presidential election and became the Mongolian President. He welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush who paid an official visit to Mongolia. It was the first visit of a U.S president to the country.[11] Mongolia received US$285 million aid from the United States' Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) which United States President George W.Bush signed with Enkhbayar in 2007.[12]

In the 2009 Mongolian presidential election, incumbent President Enkhbayar was defeated by Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of Democratic Party. Elbegdorj won 51.21% of total votes while Enkhbayar got 47.41%.[13][14] Thus Enkhbayar became the first Mongolian President to lose re-election.[15]

New political party establishment

In 2010, Enkhbayar established a political party and named it Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. The party received approval to use the previous name of the Mongolian People's Party from the Supreme Court of Mongolia on 26 June 2011.[16] Enkhbayar became the chairman of his established party.[17]

Convicted of corruption

The Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) arrested Enkhbayar at the dawn of 13 April 2012. The IAAC stated that it arrested Enkhbayar for questioning in a graft case involving the illegal privatization of a government-owned hotel because he never showed up for questioning.[18]

Over 1000 members of Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party and Enkhbayar's supporters participated in Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party's organized demonstration demanding Enkhbayar's release on the same day of his arrest.[19] On 4 May 2012, Enkhbayar announced a dry hunger strike demanding his release.[20] He lost around 12 kilograms in 16 days.[21] Amnesty International issued a statement demanding the Mongolian authority to respect human rights of Enkhbayar compatible to international standards.[22] United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon made a phone call to President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj expressing concern over Enkhbayar's health.[23] Enkhbayar was released on bail on 14 May 2012. United States Senator Dianne Feinstein expressed to the U.S.Senate her pleasure for Enkhbayar's release on bail and said "For any democracy, due process and the rule of law are essential."[24]

On 8 June 2012 the General Elections Committee (GEC) refused to register Enkhbayar as a candidate for 2012 parliamentary elections in MPRP party list listed as number one. It stated that the official documents sent from the Prosecutor's Office and Sukhbaatar District Court of Ulaanbaatar required the rejection of Enkhbayar's application pending the case.[25] However, Enkhbayar and his lawyers argue that the incumbent president, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who took office in 2009, engineered the corruption case to keep him from running in the coming elections. They claim that the court gave them insufficient time to review the prosecutors' evidence and witness statements. The election authorities' denial of Enkhbayar's candidacy on 6 June, they say, violates his constitutional right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. According to a US-based independent trial observer, the five charges leveled against Enkhbayar seem overblown and unsubstantiated. One accuses him of misappropriating TV equipment that was intended for a Buddhist monastery. Another alleges that he illegally shipped eight copies of his autobiography to South Korea on a government plane.[26]

On 2 August 2012, after a three-day trial Sukhbaatar District Court convicted Enkhbayar of corruption and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, three of which was pardoned and then gave four years prison term and fined with over MNT 1.7 billion for misusing state properties and government power.[27][28] Enkhbayar's sentence was reduced to two and a half year prison term without the fine by the Supreme Court of Mongolia-the highest court in Mongolia.[29]

On 1 August 2013, President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj issued a decree to pardon Enkhbayar thus releasing him from the rest of his jail term effective on the decree date.[30][31]

Sports

Enkhbayar climbed the highest peak in Mongolia, Khüiten Peak, with mountaineers of the Mongolian Mountaineering Federation and the Nepal Mountaineering Association on 23 June 2011.[32]

Religion

Enkhbayar is a follower of Tibetan Buddhism. He translated several Buddhist texts into Mongolian.[33]

Notes

1. "Nambaryn Enkhbayar". britannica.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
2. "Enkhbayar, Nambaryn". Undestnii tsahim ov akademi(National Digital Heritage Academy) (in Mongolian). Retrieved 30 June 2013.
3. "Nambaryn Enkhbayar, President of Mongolia". Columbia University World Leaders Forum. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
4. "Nambaryn Enkhbayar". notablebiographies.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
5. "Nambaryn Enkhbayar, former President of Mongolia". lenta.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 30 June 2013.
6. Siurua and Swift, H. and J. (2002). "Famine Avoided Despite Drought and 'Zud' in Mongolia". ENN. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
7. "Parliamentary Chamber: Ulsyn Ikh Khural. Elections held in 2000". ipu.org. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
8. Jeffries, Ian (2007). Mongolia: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 9780203962039. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
9. Kotkin and Elleman, Stephen and Bruce A. (1999). Mongolia in the Twentieth Century: Landlocked Cosmopolitan. M.E.Sharpe Inc. p. 282. ISBN 9780765605351. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
10. "Mongolia Country Report". Global Finance. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
11. "US President Bush visits Mongolia". Xinhua News Agency. 21 November 2005. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
12. "President Bush and President Enkhbayar of Mongolia Sign the Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact". whitehouse.gov. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
13. "Mongolia Profile". BBC. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
14. Enkhbayar, Roland-Holst, Sugiyarto, Shagdar, David and Guntur (September 2010). "Mongolia's investment priorities from a national development perspective" (PDF). berkeley.edu. p. 9. Retrieved 25 June 2013.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
15. "Enkhbayar, Nambaryn". voanews.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
16. Supreme Court of Mongolia
17. "Former MPRP is reborn and former President named chairman". Business-Mongolia.com. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
18. "Mongolian ex-president seized over corruption". Foxnews.com. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
19. Tang, Danlu (13 April 2012). "Mongolian party stages protest against former president's arrest". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
20. B., Chimeg (15 May 2012). "N.Enkhbayar is released on bail". infomongolia.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
21. "N.Enkhbayar lost 16 kg in 12 days". 24tsag.mn (in Mongolian). 15 May 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
22. "Mongolian authorities must respect the human rights of former Mongolian president following his arrest". Amnesty International Mongolia. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
23. B., Chimeg (15 May 2012). "N.Enkhbayar is released on bail". infomongolia.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
24. Feinstein, Diane (14 May 2012). "Feinstein Statement on Former Mongolian President Enkhbayar". feinstein.senate.gov. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
25. "Mongolia ex-president nixed from upcoming election". foxnews.com. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
26. "Mongolia's new wealth and rising corruption is tearing the nation apart". 27 June 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
27. "Mongolia ex-leader Nambar Enkhbayar jailed". BBC. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
28. "Former President of Mongolia N.Enkhbayar is sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment". infomongolia.com. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
29. "Enkhbayar's request to be freed from conviction returned". news.mn (in Mongolian). 7 May 2013. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
30. "N.Enkhbayar pardoned (in Mongolian)". Office of the President of Mongolia. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
31. J., Erkhes. "N.Enkhbayar released from rest of his jail term(in Mongolian)". news.mn. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
32. Karki, Niraj (October 2011). "From Mt. Everest to Mt. Khuiten". ECS Nepal. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
33. "Mongolian President Enkhbayar's Spiritual Outlook". buddhistchannel.tv. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2013.

Party political offices
Preceded by Büdragchaagiin Dash-Yondon	General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Party 1996–1997	Succeeded by Natsagiin Bagabandi
Preceded by Natsagiin Bagabandi	General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Party 1997–2005	Succeeded by Miyeegombyn Enkhbold
Political offices
Preceded by Rinchinnyamyn Amarjargal	Prime Minister of Mongolia 2000–2004	Succeeded by Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
Preceded by Natsagiin Bagabandi	President of Mongolia 2005–2009	Succeeded by Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj