Mongolia Government - 2024

Country name

conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Mongolia

local long form: none

local short form: Mongol Uls

former: Outer Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic

etymology: the name means "Land of the Mongols" in Latin; the Mongolian name Mongol Uls translates as "Mongol State"

Government type

semi-presidential republic

Capital

name: Ulaanbaatar

geographic coordinates: 47 55 N, 106 55 E

time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Saturday in March; ends last Saturday in September

time zone note: Mongolia has two time zones - Ulaanbaatar Time (8 hours in advance of UTC) and Hovd Time (7 hours in advance of UTC)

etymology: the name means "red hero" in Mongolian and honors national hero Damdin SUKHBAATAR, leader of the partisan army that with Soviet Red Army help, liberated Mongolia from Chinese occupation in the early 1920s

Administrative divisions

21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (singular - hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan-Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan (Zavkhan), Govi-Altay, Govisumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs

Independence

29 December 1911 (independence declared from China; in actuality, autonomy attained); 11 July 1921 (from China)

National holiday

Naadam (games) holiday (commemorates independence from China in the 1921 Revolution), 11-15 July; Constitution Day (marks the date that the Mongolian People's Republic was created under a new constitution), 26 November (1924)

Constitution

history: several previous; latest adopted 13 January 1992, effective 12 February 1992

amendments: proposed by the State Great Hural, by the president of the republic, by the government, or by petition submitted to the State Great Hural by the Constitutional Court; conducting referenda on proposed amendments requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the State Great Hural; passage of amendments by the State Great Hural requires at least three-quarters majority vote; passage by referendum requires majority participation of qualified voters and a majority of votes; amended 1999, 2000, 2019, 2023; note - an amendment passed in a referendum held in May 2023 increased the seats in the State Great Hural from 76 to 126

Legal system

civil law system influenced by Soviet and Romano-Germanic legal systems; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: both parents must be citizens of Mongolia; one parent if born within Mongolia

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH (since 25 June 2021)

head of government: Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai OYUN-ERDENE (since 27 January 2021); Deputy Prime Ministers Sainbuyen AMARSAIKHAN (since 8 September 2022) and Chimed KHURELBAATAR (since 5 January 2023)

cabinet: directly appointed by the prime minister following a constitutional amendment ratified in November 2019; prior to the amendment, the cabinet was nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the president and confirmed by the State Great Hural (parliament)

elections/appointments: presidential candidates nominated by political parties represented in the State Great Hural and directly elected by simple majority popular vote for one 6-year term; election last held on 9 June 2021 (next to be held in 2027); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the State Great Hural

election results:2021: Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH elected president in first round; percent of vote - Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH (MPP) 68%, Dangaasuren ENKHBAT (RPEC) 20.1%, Sodnomzundui ERDENE (DP) 6%

Legislative branch

description: unicameral State Great Hural or Ulsyn Ikh Khural (126 seats; 78 members directly elected in a selected constituency by simple majority vote and 48 members directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - a constitutional referendum passed in May 2023 increased the number of seats to 126 from 76

elections: last held on 24 June 2020 (next to be held 30 June 2024)

election results: percent of vote by party - MPP 44.9%, DP 24.5%, Our Coalition 8.1%, independent 8.7%, Right Person Electorate Coalition 5.2%, other 8.5%; seats by party - MPP 62, DP 11, Our Coalition 1, Right Person Electorate Coalition 1; independent 1; composition - 63 men, 13 women; percent of women 17.1%

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the Chief Justice and 24 judges organized into civil, criminal, and administrative chambers); Constitutional Court or Tsets (consists of the chairman and 8 members)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice and judges appointed by the president upon recommendation by the General Council of Courts - a 14-member body of judges and judicial officials - to the State Great Hural; appointment is for life; chairman of the Constitutional Court elected from among its members; members appointed from nominations by the State Great Hural - 3 each by the president, the State Great Hural, and the Supreme Court; appointment is 6 years; chairmanship limited to a single renewable 3-year term

subordinate courts: aimag (provincial) and capital city appellate courts; soum, inter-soum, and district courts; Administrative Cases Courts

Political parties and leaders

36 parties registered for the 2020 legislative elections to the State Great Hural; among them, the following parties won seats:
Democratic Party or DP [Sodnomzunduin ERDENE]
Mongolian People's Party or MPP [Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH]

others include:
Civil Will-Green Party or CWGP [Tserendorj GANKHUYAG]
Justice Party [Batbayar NASANBILEG]
Mongolian National Democratic Party or MNDP [Bayanjargal TSOGTGEREL]
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]
Mongolian Social Democratic Party or MSDP [Adiya GANBAATAR]
Mongolian Traditionally United Party or MTUP [Batdelgeriin BATBOLD]
National Labor Party or HUN [Togmidyn DORJKHAND]

Coalitions:
Our Coalition (MPRP, CWGP, and MTUP)
Right Person Electorate Coalition or RPEC (HUN, MSDP, Justice Party) [Togmidyn DORJKHAND]

International organization participation

ADB, ARF, CD, CICA, CP, EBRD, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador BATBAYAR Ulziidelger (since 1 December 2021)

chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117

FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227

email address and website:
washington@mfa.gov.mn

http://mongolianembassy.us/

consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Richard L. BUANGAN (since November 2022)

embassy: Denver Street #3, 11th Micro-District, Ulaanbaatar 14190

mailing address: 4410 Ulaanbaatar Place, Washington DC  20521-4410

telephone: [976] 7007-6001

FAX: [976] 7007-6174

email address and website:
UlaanbaatarACS@state.gov

https://mn.usembassy.gov/

Flag description

three, equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol); blue represents the sky, red symbolizes progress and prosperity

National symbol(s)

soyombo emblem; national colors: red, blue, yellow

National anthem

name: "Mongol ulsyn toriin duulal" (National Anthem of Mongolia)

lyrics/music: Tsendiin DAMDINSUREN/Bilegiin DAMDINSUREN and Luvsanjamts MURJORJ

note: music adopted 1950, lyrics adopted 2006; lyrics altered on numerous occasions

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 6 (4 cultural, 2 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales: Uvs Nuur Basin (n); Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (c); Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai (c); Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and surrounding sacred landscape (c); Landscapes of Dauria (n); Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites (c)