Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat

Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat (Mongolian: Пунсалмаагийн Очирбат; born January 23, 1942 in Zavkhan) is a Mongolian political figure, a current member of the Constitutional Court of Mongolia. He served as the president of Mongolia, the first one elected by direct popular vote.

Mining engineer by profession, graduate of St. Petersburg (Russia) University. Worked as Chief Engineer in coal mine in Mongolia for six years before becoming Dy Minister Miny of Mining and Geology for four years followed by nine years as Minister.

From 1985 to 1990 he served as Chairman of the State Commission for Foreign Economic Relations. In 1990 a new Ministry was established for Foreign Economic Relations and Supplies and he became the first Minister of that ministry.

Career in the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP)

Ochirbat started as an engineer, and became Minister for Energy and Geology, and later Minister for Foreign Trade. Following the emergence of a democratic movement in Mongolia, he was elected president of the People's Great Khural in March 1990. By avoiding grave confrontations and crises in the run-up to the first multi-party parliamentary elections, he gained the support of nearly all political camps for the presidential election. On 3 September 1990, he was inaugurated as President of Mongolia.

The second term

The next presidential elections were held on 6 June 1993. Ochirbat had been popular, but the MPRP nominated the editor of the party newspaper Ünen, L. Tüdev instead of Ochirbat. Tudev had a reputation as a political hardliner. This gave the National Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party the chance to nominate Ochirbat as their own candidate. Ochirbat won with 57.8% of the vote.

Family

Ochirbat is married and has two children.

References

(German) Infosystem Mongolei