Colonel General Zhamyangiyn Lhagvasuren () was a Mongolian statesman and military leader in the

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...

. From 1939 to 1980, he was a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee and a candidate member, and then a member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. In 1940-1947 he was a deputy of the Small Khural, and in 1951 he became a member of the

Great People's Khural The State Great Khural, ; "State Great Assembly" is the unicameral parliament of Mongolia.Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, Foreign Service office of Montsame News Agency, , p. 40 It is located in the Government Palace. History ;1 ...

Biography

Early life and World War Two

He was born into a family of a military officers. At the age of 20, he voluntarily entered the service in the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army, serving in the 15th Cavalry Division. In 1935 he became a member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. For two years (1935-1937) he received military education in Moscow, graduating from courses at the Lenin Military-Political Academy. After graduation, until 1938, he continued to serve at the academy as the head of a group of Mongolian cadets. Upon returning to Mongolia in January 1939, he was appointed head of the Political Council and Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army. He took part in the

Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, ...

in 1939 and also participated in the hostilities of the

Soviet–Japanese War The Soviet–Japanese War (russian: Советско-японская война; ja, ソ連対日参戦, soren tai nichi sansen, Soviet Union entry into war against Japan), known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945 (), was a military ...

. During the battles, he, in his position as Corps Commissar of the MPRA, was Marshal

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

's deputy in command of the Mongolian cavalry. Towards the end of the war, he also served with General Issa Pliyev in the Soviet-Mongolian Cavalry-Mechanized Group of the

Transbaikal Front The Transbaikal Front (russian: Забайкальский фронт) was a front formed on September 15, 1941, on the basis of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air ...

. In 1944, he became one of the first generals of the Mongolian Army.

Post-war

In 1951, he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow. Beginning in 1955, he became Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army. In this position, he was responsible for the renovation works at the

Sükhbaatar's Mausoleum Sükhbaatar's Mausoleum () was a mausoleum for Damdin Sükhbaatar, leader of the Mongolian Revolution of 1921, and Khorloogiin Choibalsan, leader of the Mongolian People's Republic from the late 1930s to his death in 1952, in Mongolia's capital ...

. In 1956, he headed the committee for physical culture and sports, and became the first president of the

Mongolian National Olympic Committee Mongolian National Olympic Committee ( mn, Монголын Үндэсний олимпийн хороо) is the National Olympic Committee representing Mongolia. History The Mongolian National Olympic Committee was established on February 26, ...

. For a decade, he was the Minister of People's Troops (in 1968 the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Defense) and commander-in-chief of the Mongolian People's Army. In this position, he undertook a significant reorganization of the Mongolian military. After ten years of work in July 1969 he was summoned to a meeting of the Politburo and was dismissed. Later he served for two years as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He was then elected Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the

. He retired in March 1982 at the age of 70 and died two months later of a heart attack.

Legacy

In 2012, Mongolia celebrated the centenary of his birth. The 167th Military Unit of the

Mongolian Ground Force The Ground Force of Mongolia (, ''Mongol Ulsyn Zevsegt hüchniy Huurai zamyn tsereg'', ) is the land force of the Mongolian Armed Forces, formed from parts of the former Mongolian People's Army in 1992. It was known as the "Mongolian General Purp ...

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lhagvasuren, Zhamyangiyn Mongolian military personnel 1912 births 1982 deaths Frunze Military Academy alumni Ministers of Defence of Mongolia