Sanjaasuren Oyun (), also transcribed S. Oyun, is a Mongolian politician and geologist. She is the leader of the
Civil Will Party, is the former Minister of Environment and Green Development, and has been a Member of Parliament of Mongolia (
State Great Khural
The State Great Khural is the unicameral parliament of Mongolia,Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, Foreign Service office of Montsame News Agency, , p. 40 located in the Government Palace in the capital Ulaanbaatar.
History
191 ...
) since 1998. She is also a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and is the current head of the
Zorig Foundation. Now she is new head of Global Water Partnership GWP. In 2003,
Eisenhower Fellowships
Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 by a group of American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organization ...
awarded Oyun a fellowship program in the United States. In 2006, Oyun was selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the Davos
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
(WEF). She has been an active member of the YGL community since. On June 24, 2014, Oyun was elected the first president of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).
Early life and education
Oyun was born in
Ulan-Bator in 1964. In 1987 she finished her studies in
geochemistry
Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...
at the
Charles University
Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
of
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. In 1996 she earned a PhD in geology from the
Department of Earth Sciences at
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
.
Career
Upon graduating, Oyun began working for a multinational mining company called
Rio Tinto.
After the murder of her brother
S. Zorig, a Mongolian pro-democracy leader, in October 1998, she entered politics. She won the by-elections in her brother's constituency in
Dornod, the birthplace of their father Sanjaasuren. In March 2000, she founded the
Civil Will Party (, ). The Civil Will Party holds about ten percent of the public's support (as of the 2008 parliamentary elections). She also served as the Vice-Speaker of Parliament (between 2004 and 2005) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs (between 2007 and 2008).
She served as a Minister of Environment and Green Development of Mongolia. Since June 24, 2014, Oyun is working as the first president of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA)
Besides Mongolian, Oyun speaks fluently in Russian, English, and Czech.
Other positions
*
Zorig Foundation, Founder and Chair
* Mongolian Geological Association, President
* Down Syndrome Association of Mongolia, Chair
*
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...
, Member of the Strategic Advisory Board on Our Planet, Our Health
Family background
Oyun's mother, Dorjpalam, is famous for her role as a doctor in a well-known Mongolian movie ''Serelt''. Dorjpalam's father was the Russian geographer and scientist Simukov, who fell victim to Mongolia's political
purges of the 1930s. Oyun is married with three children.
Oyun's father, Sanjaasuren, served as the dean of the Philosophy Faculty of the National University of Mongolia and as Deputy Minister of Education.
References
External links
www.mongolei.de: Interview (in German)*
ttp://www.izn.mn/?page_id=30 Иргэний Зориг Нам: Намын удирдлага (in Mongolian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyuun, Sanjaasurengiin
1964 births
Living people
Members of the State Great Khural
Mongolian geologists
Politicians from Ulaanbaatar
Mongolian people of Russian descent
Democratic Party (Mongolia) politicians
Civil Will–Green Party politicians
21st-century Mongolian women politicians
21st-century Mongolian politicians
Female foreign ministers
20th-century Mongolian women politicians
20th-century Mongolian politicians
Women government ministers of Mongolia
Buryat people
Women geologists
20th-century geologists
Charles University alumni
Buryat women