Nambaryn Enkhbayar

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, while it was controversial debt due to Mongolia being a raw material supplier to Soviet Union pricing the materials almost free for former USSR.

Nambaryn Enkhbayar (Намбарын Энхбаяр; born 1 June 1958) is a Mongolian politician.

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 at Leeds University in the United Kingdom in 1985–1986.

As a young man, he translated the works of Mongolian poet Mend-Ooyo Gombojav into English.

He is married to Onongiin Tsolmon since 1987 and they have four children.

Enkhbayar became the chairman of the Association of Mongolian Writers in 1990.

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.

He was the chairman of the Mongolian People’s Party from 1997 to 2005 and head of Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 2010 to 2021.

His eldest son, Batshugar Enkhbayar is a member of the State Great Khural from Mongolian People's Party.

In 1997 he was elected as the chairman of the MPRP.

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.

He served as the Prime Minister of Mongolia from 2000 to 2004, as Chairman of the State Great Khural 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.

Enkhbayar's leading MPRP won 2000 parliamentary elections winning 72 out of 76 seats.

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.

Thanks to international exposure of Mongolia's vast mineral resources, the economy experienced 10% real GDP growth in 2004.

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.

He won the 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.

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.

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%.

Thus Enkhbayar became the first Mongolian President to lose re-election.

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.

Enkhbayar became the chairman of his established party.

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.

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.

On 4 May 2012, Enkhbayar announced a dry hunger strike demanding his release.

He lost around 12 kilograms in 16 days.