Da Lam Tserenchimed (1869 – 1914) was a prominent

lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

and early 20th century Mongolian independence leader. In December 1911, he was appointed interior minister and ''de facto'' prime minister in the

Bogd Khan Bogd Khan (13 October 1869 – 20 May 1924) was the khan of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia from 1911 to 1924, following the state's ''de facto'' independence from the Qing dynasty of China after the Xinhai Revolution. Born in Tibet, he was the ...

's first government of Autonomous Mongolia, a position he held until

Tögs-Ochiryn Namnansüren Tögs-Ochir Namnansüren (1878 – April 1919), known by his full title Sain Noyon Khan Namnansüren, was a hereditary prince and prominent early 20th-century Mongolian independence leader. He served as the first prime minister of Mongolia u ...

officially became the first prime minister in July 1912.

Early life and career

Tserenchimed was born in 1869 in present-day

Khövsgöl Province Khövsgöl () is the northernmost of the 21 Aimags of Mongolia, aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl. Geography and history The round-topped Tarvagatai (Khangai), Tarvagatai, Bulnain and Erchim sub-ranges of th ...

. He entered a monastery at an early age, became a

, and then started work as low level clerk in the office of the Shamzudba (the Secular Affairs Administration office) of the estates of the Bogd Khan ''Ikh Shav''), quickly climbing his way up to become ''Da Lam'' (Chief Lama or Abbot). He showed a talent for politics early on and established excellent working relations with local political officials. Around this time he began to support calls for Mongolian independence. In July 1911 Tserenchimed was one of several high-ranking lamas and hereditary princes summoned to Khüree (present day

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

) by the Bogd Khan to discuss independence. The Bogd Khan then named him a member of a delegation, along with Namnansüren, that traveled to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

to seek Czarist Russian and West European support for Mongolian independence from Chinese rule. BogdKhan

In November 1911 he was named head of General Administration Office of

Khalkh The Khalkha (; ) have been the largest subgroup of the Mongols in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century. In contrast, the Oira ...

Affairs in the provisional Mongolian government set up as

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

collapsed in China. The only commoner in Bogd Khan's government, he was then appointed interior minister in the first government of the newly established Autonomous Mongolia in early 1912, a position that was recognized as a ''de facto'' prime ministry, until the establishment in July 1912 of office of prime minister and appointment of Namnansüren to the position. Tserenchimed had established close ties to the Chinese

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

nationalists and the Japanese. In 1913 he attempted to travel to Tokyo to seek Japanese recognition of Mongolian independence and assistance in uniting northern and southern Mongolians but was turned back at

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

by Russian officials. In 1914 he was removed from his position as minister of interior and reassigned to be minister for pacification of western frontier. He died a short while later while traveling out to the western frontier to take up his new position.Urgunge Onon, Derrick Pritchatt 1989, pg 119

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tserenchimed, Da Lam 20th-century Mongolian politicians 1869 births 1914 deaths People from Khövsgöl Province Prime ministers of Mongolia Justice ministers of Mongolia