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Khaltmaagiin Battulga (; mn, Халтмаагийн Баттулга, Haltmaagiin Battulga, , also referred to as Battulga Khaltmaa; born 3 March 1963) is a Mongolian politician and sambo wrestler who served as the 5th
President of Mongolia The president of Mongolia ( mn, Монгол Улсын Ерөнхийлөгч, ''Mongol Ulsyn Yerönkhiilögch'') is the executive head of state of Mongolia.Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, , p. 42 The current president is Ukhnaagiin ...
from 2017 to 2021. He served as Member of the State Great Khural from 2004 to 2016 and Minister of Roads, Transportation, Construction and Urban Development from 2008 to 2012. Before his career in politics, Battulga was a sambo wrestling champion. He was the Democratic Party's candidate in the 2017 presidential election and was elected President with 50.6% in the run-off, the first-ever run-off election in modern Mongolian history. Mongolians are sharply divided about his role in the
2019 Mongolian constitutional crisis The 2019 Mongolian constitutional crisis refers to legislation that has been criticized as threatening Mongolia's democracy by undermining its constitutional separation of powers. Though there is no consensus on the exact date the crisis began, ma ...
.


Background

Battulga was born on March 3, 1963 in
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
. Battulga is a second child of three children. His father and mother are both from
Bayankhongor Province The Bayankhongor Province or Bayanhongor Aimag, , "Rich Darling Province" is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the southwest of the country and, at 116,000 square kilometers, it is one of the largest aimags. The cap ...
. The family was allocated a traditional ''ger'' in the Yarmag district in Ulaanbaatar after they lost everything in the flood of
Tuul River , , "to wade through" , nickname = Queen Tuul , image = Tuul River Mongolia.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Tuul flowing through the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park , map = Toula (riv ...
in 1966. In 1978, he graduated from the 10-year 34th secondary school in Ulaanbaatar. In 1982 he graduated from the School of Fine Arts of Mongolia with a degree in painting. While studying at the arts school, Battulga sold his paintings to tourists around the Bayangol Hotel area.


Business

In 1990, Battulga started sewing and selling jeans locally and in Hungary. He saved $600 to buy a video camera and start an export-import business trading electronics from Singapore to Mongolia, Russia, and Eastern Europe. Battulga was fascinated with ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...
'' and named his first company Genco, the name of the olive oil importing company in the film. Genco acquired controlling interests during the privatization of state-owned assets such as Bayangol Hotel and meat-processing factory Makh-Impex in 1997 and 1999 respectively.


Wrestling

Battulga grew up around Mongolian traditional wrestling, as his father Khaltmaa was a coach. Battulga was a member of the Mongolian National wrestling team from 1983-1990 and won the world cup championship in Ulaanbaatar in 1989. Battulga was awarded a Merited Sportsmen of Mongolia in 1995 before being selected as the Chairman of the Mongolian
Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...
Federation in 2006. Under Battulga's leadership at the Judo Federation, Mongolian judokas became Olympic champions for the first time in history.


Political activity

In 2004, Battulga became a Member of Parliament for
Bayankhongor province The Bayankhongor Province or Bayanhongor Aimag, , "Rich Darling Province" is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the southwest of the country and, at 116,000 square kilometers, it is one of the largest aimags. The cap ...
for the first time. He was re-elected to parliament in 2008 and 2012. From 2008 to 2012, he was Minister of Roads and Transport of Mongolia. In 2012, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Industry and Agriculture of Mongolia.


Election

Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
were held on 26 June 2017. Incumbent President
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (, ''Cahiagín Elbegdorj'' ; also referred to as Mongolyin Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Tsakhia Elbegdorj; born 30 March 1963) is a Mongolian politician who served as President of Mongolia from 2009 to 2017. He previously ser ...
was constitutionally barred from running for a third term. Battulga ran in the election representing the Democratic Party. He ran against former Prime Minister
Miyeegombyn Enkhbold Miyegombyn Enkhbold ( mn, Миеэгомбын Энхболд, ''Miyégombīn Enhbold''; born 19 July 1964) is a Mongolian politician who was Prime Minister of Mongolia from January 2006 to November 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2007 to 20 ...
of 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 ...
. For the first time, no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, forcing a run-off between Battulga and Enkhbold on 7 July, brought forward from 9 July. In the second round, Battulga was narrowly elected with 50.61% of the popular vote.


Presidency (2017–2021)


Inauguration

Battulga's inauguration took place at the State Palace on 10 July 2017 in the presence of Prime Minister Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat and former president Elbegdorj. In his presidential address, he laid out the principles for his term, including one for the industrialization of the country. He also said that he would work to maintain and expand the good-neighbor relations with
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and will "pay utmost attention" to the third neighbor policy, referring to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. After the ceremony, he went outside to lay wreaths at the monuments to
Damdin Sükhbaatar Damdin Sükhbaatar ( mn, Дамдины Сүхбаатар, Damdinii Sühbaatar, ; February 2, 1893 – February 20, 1923) was a Mongolian communist revolutionary, founding member of the Mongolian People's Party, and leader of the Mongolia ...
and
Chinggis Khaan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
. He also received state
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...
, including the state stamp and the presidential certificate. Since he became president, Battulga has made it standard practice for people to put their hand on their heart during the performance of the national anthem of Mongolia by a
concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...
or
military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...
, as well as a vocal performance.


Domestic policy


Death penalty

Within days of his inauguration, he took measures to reinstate the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
for
sexual offenders A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
, which came days after the death penalty was completely abolished in the country. On 16 October, Battulga announced the formation of an expert group to look into the reinstatement of the death penalty for premeditated murder and rape. The following month, he submitted his proposal to the justice and interior ministry. In a speech to the during the opening of the autumn session of the State Great Khural, he claimed that a systemic social crisis is to blame for the national challenges that posed a threat to the country.


Constitutional crisis

On 27 March 2019, the State Great Khural began a
constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this ...
when it adopted an unprecedented law that gave the
National Security Council of Mongolia The National Security Council of Mongolia (NSC) () is a consultative body to the Office of the President of Mongolia. It focuses mainly on briefing high ranking national security and/or political figures on the state of internal and external threa ...
the power to recommend the dismissal of judges and prosecutors, as well as the head of the national
anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive meas ...
service. Battulga's political party, the opposition's main minority faction in the parliament, claims that the law undermines the country's constitutional
separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typi ...
and the larger Mongolian democratic system.


Disbandment of the MPP

In April 2021, Battulga issued an emergency directive to disband the MPP "in order to safeguard the sovereignty and democracy of the country" after the MPP passed amendments to the constitution. The constitutional amendments, which took effect in May 2020, limits one's presidency to one term, making Battulga ineligible to re-run in the 2021 presidential election. At the same time, he also condemned the formation of a “Mongolian Military Union” as 'a parallel military structure" that "threatens the country's democratic foundations" and "endangers the fundamental rights and interests of our citizens and constitution." Luvsanvandangiin Bold, former
Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...
and current Battulga's Advisor on National Security warned that the creation of the union "will lead to the creation of quasi-fascist regime.”


Foreign policy


East Asia

Battulga is largely seen as a pro-Russian politician and a
Russophile Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Cen ...
due to his Russian ties and his knowledge of the
Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...
. He is commonly compared to Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
due to their shared love and experience in
judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...
. When he spoke to Putin during a summit in eastern Russia in September 2017, Putin said that the shared sport will help "develop a good working and personal relationship". Battulga has in recent years criticized the Mongolian economy's dependence on
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. On 14 June 2018, after the conclusion of the Singapore Summit between North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's secon ...
and U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
, Battulga congratulated both leaders, telling Kim that he considers the summit as a "landmark event not only for the
North Korea–United States relations Relations between North Korea and the United States have been historically tense and hostile, as both countries have no diplomatic relations. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang is the U.S. protecting power and provides limited consular service ...
but for the
Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical subregion of Asia; its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by American historian and political scient ...
n region and the
Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
". Battulga was widely expected to host the summit as the Mongolian
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
due to the fact that the country has sponsored many regional summits in recent years and is easily accessible by train from
Pyongyang, North Korea Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population ...
. Days after the summit, Battulga invited Kim to
Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
for a state visit in honor of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations.


Others

In mid-March 2018, Battulga appealed to U.S. President Trump via telegram to more trade relations, saying an economic downturn threatened to destabilize Mongolia, and that although Mongolia is an "oasis of democracy", this "does not contribute to economic development" in a region where authoritarianism (China and Russia) in on the rise. The United States is one of Mongolia’s so-called Third Neighbors, which Battulga said that U.S. trade and investment could help prevent the return of authoritarian in Mongolia. During a visit to
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
in June 2019, Battulga opened the Mongolian Embassy in
Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
.


International trips as president


Private life

He currently lives with Angelique Davain, a Russian by nationality and native of the
Khentii Province Khentii ( mn, Хэнтий) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the east of the country. Its capital is Chinggis City. The aimag is named after the Khentii Mountains. It is best known as the birthplace and likely final ...
. His legal wife, Ts. Enkhtuya was the director of the Nüüdelchin Company. He is currently a father to two sets of twin sons and one daughter. Aside from Mongolian, Battulga speaks Russian and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
.
John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...
wrote in his book ''
The Room Where It Happened ''The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir'' is a memoir by John Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor for U.S. President Donald Trump from April 2018 to September 2019. Bolton was reportedly paid an advance of $2 million.S ...
'' that President Battulga's son served in Afghanistan for a US-led multinational force.


Residence

In 2017, newly-elected Battulga has said that he intended to live in the "Winter Palace" in central Ulaanbaatar, also known as the Marshal’s Residence, in a departure from tradition. The two story-building was originally the residence of Marshal
Khorloogiin Choibalsan Khorloogiin Choibalsan ( mn, Хорлоогийн Чойбалсан, spelled ''Koroloogiin Çoibalsan'' before 1941; 8 February 1895 – 26 January 1952) was the leader of Mongolia (Mongolian People's Republic) and Marshal (general chief com ...
. It is located in the heart of the capital between Peace Avenue and Seoul Street (next to the 1st School and the Russian Embassy). Being 400 meter from the State House he insisted to stay there so that he can walk to work.


Social contributions

Battulga sponsored the construction of the Chingis Khan Equestrian Statue near Ulaanbaatar to celebrate national pride. The statue became one of the main tourist attractions. Battulga is also President of the Mongolian Judo Association. Under his guidance, Mongolian judoka Tuvshinbayar Naidan became an Olympic judo champion in Beijing 2008. As such, judo has become one of the most popular sports in Mongolia.Mongolian Mining Corporation, Announcement On The Government Of Mongolia’s Decision On Unified Railway Network Development
, 4 November 2012


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battulga, Khaltmaa 1963 births Democratic Party (Mongolia) politicians Agriculture ministers of Mongolia Industry ministers of Mongolia Transport ministers of Mongolia Living people Mongolian artists Mongolian businesspeople Mongolian sambo practitioners Mongolian male judoka People from Ulaanbaatar Presidents of Mongolia 20th-century Mongolian artists 21st-century Mongolian politicians