Zandaakhüügiin Enkhbold (, born 23 May 1966, in Ulaanbaatar) is a Mongolian politician who served as the

chairman of the State Great Khural The Chairman of the State Great Khural () is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the State Great Khural. List of chairmen References

{{Chairmen of the State Great Khural 1990 establishments in Mongolia Chairmen of the State ...

from 2012 to 2016.

Early life and education

He spent his childhood in

Selenge Province Selenge () is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, ...

. He was educated at

Ural State University The Ural State University (, , often shortened to USU, УрГУ) is a public university located in the city of Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation. Founded in 1920, it was an exclusive educational establishment made of several in ...

in Russia as an electrical engineer with a concentration on automation and telemetry from 1984 to 1989. Later, he earned a diploma of law from the

National University of Mongolia The National University of Mongolia () is a public university primarily located in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Established in 1942, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Mongolia, and was originally named in honour of then-Prime Minist ...

in 1996 and graduated with an IMBA from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

in 2004.

Political career

Although he joined the pro-democracy movement in late 1989 and the

Mongolian Social Democratic Party The Mongolian Social Democratic Party (), colloquially referred to as the Socdem Party, is a center-left political party in Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south an ...

in 1990, Enkhbold emerged on the political scene in 1996 when he was appointed the Chairman of State Property Committee, the government agency responsible for the administration of the privatization process in Mongolia. After electoral defeat in 2000, Enkhbold was elected as secretary-general of the

Democratic Party (Mongolia) The Democratic Party () is a political party in Mongolia. It is placed on the centre-right of the political spectrum. History Founding and early years After the 1990 democratic revolution, Mongolia became a country with a multi-party system. ...

(DP). However, he resigned from his post after the DP lost the 2001 presidential election. Enkhbold assumed his seat in parliament from

Övörkhangai Province Övörkhangai (; " South Khangai") is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. Its capital is Arvaikheer. The Shankh Monastery, one of the oldest and most important monasteries, is located in this province, as well as Erdene Zuu monast ...

in 2005. He was one of three sponsors of the controversial

Windfall Profits Tax A windfall tax is a higher tax rate on profits that ensue from a sudden windfall gain to a particular company or industry. There have been windfall taxes in various countries across the world, including Australia, Italy, and Mongolia (2006–2 ...

that was abolished when the Mongolian government signed an Investment Agreement for the

Oyu Tolgoi mine The Oyu Tolgoi mine, also (, ; "Turquoise Hill"), is a combined open pit and underground mining project in Khanbogd sum within the south Gobi Desert, approximately east of the Ömnögovi Province capital Dalanzadgad. The site was discovere ...

. During his third parliamentary term, he served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Security and Foreign Policy from 2008 to 2011. Enkhbold has been perceived and has maintained his image as a brave, honest, and disinterested politician. Unlike most leaders in the DP, he has been much less involved in deals between the DP and the

Mongolian People's Party The Mongolian People's Party (MPP) is a social democratic political party in Mongolia. It was founded as a communist party in 1920 by Mongolian revolutionaries and is the oldest political party in Mongolia. The party played an important role ...

(MPP) since 2004 and did not serve as a cabinet member in the coalition governments of 2004 and 2008. Moreover, Enkhbold has often come to public attention through his questions and statements about misconduct of politicians, often including fellow DP members. In 2012, Enkhbold founded “Shonkhor” (Falcon), an influential faction within the DP. Enkhbold was a co-author of the new parliamentary election law of early 2012 that introduced a mix of majoritarian districts and proportional representation, a women's quota for candidates, electronic counting of ballots, and more stringent requirements for candidates and party platforms. In the July 2017, after Battulga was elected as President of Mongolia, he was appointed Head of the Presidential Office and resigned in 2021.

Speaker

In the June 2012 election, the DP listed him second on its proportional representation party list. Following the DP victory he has become Speaker of Parliament.

Loss of seat

He was unseated in the June 2016 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enkhbold, Zandaakhuu 1966 births Living people National University of Mongolia alumni Democratic Party (Mongolia) politicians Chairmen of the State Great Khural Politicians from Ulaanbaatar Ural State University alumni