Natsagiin Bagabandi ( mn, Нацагийн Багабанди; born April 22, 1950) is a Mongolian politician and the Director of Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Previously, he was the President of Mongolia from 1997 to 2005, and a member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party.

Biography

He was born on 22 April 1950 in Zavkhan, Mongolia into a peasant family. In 1979 he joined the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. He studied in Leningrad (Leningrad Technical School of the Refrigeration Industry), Ukraine (Odessa Technological Institute of the Food Industry) and Moscow (Academy of Social Sciences at the Central Committee of the CPSU), and graduated in Food engineering. In 1987, he received a doctorate in

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. He became speaker of the legislature,

State Great 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 ...

, in 1992 for four years, then ran for presidential elections in 1997, winning them. He won re-election in 2001. In early 1997, he became General Secretary of the MPRP, shortly before the presidential elections, which were held in difficult conditions for the party. After his victory in the 1997 presidential elections, defeating his predecessor Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, he served as president. In the presidential elections on May 22, 2005, Nambaryn Enkhbayar was elected to succeed Natsagiin Bagabandi with 53.4 percent of the vote and took office in June.

Awards

* Order of Genghis Khan (2011) * Order of Sukhbaatar (September 13, 2006) * Order of Friendship (April 19, 2000) * Grand Cross of the

Hungarian Order of Merit The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the ...

(2005) :hu:A Magyar Érdemrend nagykeresztje a nyaklánccal és az arany sugaras csillaggal

Personal life

He is married with two children.

Works

"Address to UN General Assembly", 29 September 2003

References

, - Presidents of Mongolia Speakers of the State Great Khural 1950 births Living people People from Zavkhan Province Mongolian People's Party politicians {{Mongolia-politician-stub