Formerly: Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party Монгол Ардын Хувьсгалт Нам (1924–2011)
The Mongolian People's Party (MPP)[lower-alpha 3] 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.
As the MPRP, the party was organized on the basis of democratic centralism, a principle conceived by Vladimir Lenin which entails democratic and open discussion on policy on the condition of unity in upholding the agreed upon policies. The highest body of the party was the Party Congress, convened every fifth year. When the Party Congress was not in session, the Central Committee was the highest body, but since they met normally only once a year, most duties and responsibilities are vested in the Politburo and its Standing Committee. The party's leader has been titled General Secretary, Chairman, Secretary, and First Secretary. The party previously followed Marxism-Leninism, a synthesis of the ideas of Karl Marx and Lenin introduced by Joseph Stalin in 1929, under which the industries of Mongolia were nationalized and a planned economy was implemented.
Following the Mongolian Revolution of 1990, other political parties in Mongolia were legalised and the country transitioned into a multi-party democracy. The party subsequently abandoned Marxism–Leninism in favour of democratic socialism. In 2010, party members voted to adopt social democracy as the party's ideology and restore the party's original name, dropping the word "revolutionary". This caused a faction to split away and form a new party to retain the long-standing name; the two parties reunited in 2021.
The party remained as Mongolia's governing party after the 1990 revolution, until it was defeated in the 1996 election. From 2004 to 2008, it was a part of a coalition government with the Democratic Party and Motherland Party. From 2008 to 2012, the party participated in another coalition with the Democratic Party, although it had a majority in the Mongolian legislature. It became the main opposition party after the 2012 election. The party returned to power following the 2016 election and retained its majority in the 2020 election.
Flag of the Mongolian People's Party during the 1921 revolution
During the occupation two groups, known as the Consular Hill (Konsulyn denj) and East Khuree (Züün khüree), formed as resistance movements. On 25 June 1920, the groups united as the Mongolian People's Party and decided to send seven representatives to the Soviet Union, who met with Soviet representatives in Irkutsk in August. On 1 March 1921, the party formed in Kyakhta (claiming to be Mongolia's first political party) and formed a provisional government.
On 18 March, the Mongolian People's Army under Damdin Sükhbaatar defeated Chinese forces and took Kyakhta. In May, the White Russian Baron Ungern brought his forces north from Ikh Khuree and were defeated by joint Mongolian People's Army and Red Army forces. On 25 June 1921, the Mongolian People’s Party issued a statement to all Mongolians about its decision to liberate the capital by force. The forces entered the capital on 6 July and declared independence on 11 July. Following advice from the Communist International, the party renamed itself the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party in 1924.[5]
In 1928, Mongolian politics turned sharply left and began to adhere to communist ideology. Livestock herds were forcibly collectivized, private trade and transport forbidden and monasteries and the nobility were attacked. With state-run trade and transport unable to function, Mongolia's economy broke down—over seven million head of livestock dead, leading to widespread unrest in 1932. The uprising was quelled in October after the involvement of Mongolian and Soviet armies, tanks and planes.
The first wave of purges began with the 1933 Lkhümbe affair, a manufactured conspiracy linking party secretary Jambyn Lkhümbe with Japanese spy networks. Over 1,500 people were purged, many of whom were executed. Victims included Prime Minister Peljidiin Genden, who was enthusiastic about the liberalisation of the economy. In 1936, Genden was removed from power and executed in the Soviet Union. Khorloogiin Choibalsan, a staunch ally of Joseph Stalin, gained power.
Between 1937 and 1939, a second wave of purges began, with 25,437 people officially arrested and 20,099 executed. The actual number of victims has been estimated at over 35,000 to 100,000. Over 18,000 were lamas, resulting in the virtual destruction of the Buddhist clergy. Between 1940 and 1955, those who were complicit in the earlier purges were themselves purged.
Under Choibalsan's rule, improvements in Mongolia's infrastructure, roads and communications were made with Soviet assistance and steps were taken to improve the country's literacy rate. The 11th party congress was held in December 1947, approving Mongolia's first five-year plan to intensify development of the economy, industry, animal husbandry and agriculture in stages.
In 1952, Khorloogiin Choibalsan died and Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal gained power. Tsedenbal purged his political rivals: Dashiin Damba in 1958–1959, Daramyn Tömör-Ochir in 1962, Luvsantserengiin Tsend in 1963 and the Lookhuuz-Nyambuu-Surmaajav anti-party group in December 1964. His foreign policy was marked by efforts to bring Mongolia into closer cooperation with the Soviet Union and attempts to incorporate the country into the Soviet Union. Tsedenbal's attempts to make Mongolia the 16th Republic of the Soviet Union met strong opposition from other politicians and he was accused of treachery. During the Sino-Soviet split, Tsedenbal sided with the Soviet Union, incurring Chinese wrath. He is remembered for maintaining a path of moderate socialism during the Cold War.
In August 1984, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal was forced into retirement in a Soviet-sponsored move, allegedly due to age and mental state. Jambyn Batmönkh took power that month as the party and national leader.
The first open pro-democracy demonstration took place in front of the Youth Cultural Center in Ulaanbaatar on 10 December 1989.[6] Over the next few months, the demonstration organizers founded Mongoliin Ardchilsan Kholboo (the Mongolian Democratic Union) and continued to organize demonstrations, rallies, protests and hunger, teachers' and workers' strikes[7] in the capital and the countryside calling for democracy, receiving increased support from Mongolians nationwide.[8][9]
On 7 March 1990 in Sükhbaatar Square, the Mongolian Democratic Union launched a hunger strike urging the communists to resign. The party's politburo, the governmental authority, eventually yielded to pressure and began negotiating with the pro-democracy leaders.[10]Jambyn Batmönkh, chairman of the party's politburo, decided to dissolve it and resign on 9 March 1990.[11][12] This paved the way for Mongolia's first multi-party elections.[7]
Behind the scenes, the party considered cracking down on the protesters and formulated a decree to be signed by party leader Batmönkh. Batmönkh opposed it, maintaining his policy of never using force (Mongolian: Хэрхэвч Хүч хэрэглэж болохгүй). According to those present, Batmönkh said "I will never sign this. We few Mongols have not yet come to the point that we will make each other's noses bleed", struck the table and left the room.[13]
In the 1990 elections, parties contended for 430 seats in the Great Khural, but opposition parties were unable to nominate enough candidates. The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party won 357 seats in the Great Khural and 31 of 53 seats in the Small Khural (which was later abolished). The new MPRP government under Dashiin Byambasüren shared power with the democrats, implementing constitutional and economic reforms and adopting a new constitution in 1992. With the collapse of the Soviet Union (which had provided significant economic aid to Mongolia until 1990), the country experienced severe economic problems. In the 1993 Mongolian presidential elections, the MPRP was defeated for the first time in its history—Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, the candidate backed by the democratic parties, received two-thirds of the vote.
The 2008 parliamentary elections were especially controversial, with the MPRP accused of vote-rigging. Protests against the results turned violent on 1 July and a riot broke out at MPRP headquarters which was half-heartedly addressed by authorities—the party headquarters was destroyed by fire. After the riots, a five-day state of emergency was declared by President Nambaryn Enkhbayar for the first time in Mongolia's history.[15] Five civilians died during the emergency: four were shot and the fifth allegedly died from carbon-monoxide poisoning.[16][17] The Mongolian Minister of Justice estimated that 220 civilians and 108 service members were injured. With the situation tense, the MPRP decided to admit the Democratic Party into the government and formed a coalition. The party demolished its headquarters and built its Independence Palace (Mongolian: Тусгаар тогтнолын ордон) with government subsidies and donations from party members; the building became fully operational on 26 November 2011.[18][19]
In the 2009 Mongolian presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj defeated MPRP candidate and incumbent president Nambaryn Enkhbayar.[20][21] In January 2012, the Democratic Party decided to leave the coalition government before the June parliamentary elections. In the 2012 parliamentary elections, the Democratic Party defeated the MPP; the MPP became the opposition, with 26 seats in parliament.[22] In the 2012 local elections in Ulaanbaatar, the provinces and districts, the MPP was defeated for the first time in Mongolia's history.[23] In the 2013 Mongolian presidential election, the Democratic Party candidate and incumbent president Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj again defeated the MPP candidate.[24]
Former logo of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, later adopted by a new party with the same name
The restoration of the party name to the Mongolian People’s Party had been at the core of discussions among party members and at party congresses since 1990. In 2010, it was extensively deliberated at all party levels, resulting on 81.3 percent of the membership supporting the restoration of the Mongolian People’s Party name and 10.7 percent of the membership wanting to deliberate the matter during the 26th party congress. The decision to restore the party's original name was approved by 99.3 percent of the delegates to the 26th party congress. At the congress, the party’s political ideology was refocused from democratic socialism to social democracy.
After the MPRP restored its original name, former Mongolian president and MPRP chairman Nambaryn Enkhbayar founded a new political party in 2010.[28][29] Enkhbayar received permission to use the name Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party for his new party from the Supreme Court of Mongolia on 24 June 2011.[30][31]
Victory in the 2020 and 2021 elections
The MPP won a landslide victory in the 2020 parliamentary election. The party's election platform had six chapters and addresses population income, economic policy, governance, green development policy, Ulaanbaatar city development, and regional development policy.[32] The election result marked the first time a single party has retained an absolute majority in consecutive elections. Previously the Mongolian People's Party and the Democratic Party had taken turns wielding a majority in the State Great Khural or were compelled to form coalition governments.[33]
In June 2021, former prime minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh of the MPP became the country's sixth democratically elected president after winning the presidential election, further consolidating the party's power in the Mongolian government.[34]
The politics of Mongolia takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential multi-party representative democracy. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister, who is the head of government, and the Cabinet. The president is the head of state, but holds limited authority over the executive branch of the government, unlike full presidential republics like the United States. Legislative power is vested in parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Articles related to Mongolia include:
The Mongolian People's Republic was a socialist state that existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia under the Qing dynasty. It was officially recognized by the Nationalist government as independent from the Republic of China in 1946. Until 1990, it was a one-party state ruled by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, and maintained close political and economic ties with the Soviet Union, as part of the Eastern Bloc.
Nambaryn Enkhbayar is a Mongolian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Mongolia from 2000 to 2004, as Chairman of the State Great Khural from 2004 to 2005, and as President of Mongolia from 2005 to 2009. He is the first person to have held all of the top three positions in the Mongolian government. He was the chairman of the Mongolian People’s Party from 1997 to 2005 and head of Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 2010 to 2021. His eldest son, Batshugar Enkhbayar is a member of the State Great Khural from Mongolian People's Party. Due to his corruption scandal he is regarded as the godfather of corruption in Mongolian politics by the public media.
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal was a Mongolian politician who led the Mongolian People's Republic from 1952 to 1984. He served as General Secretary of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 1940 to 1954 and again from 1958 to 1984, as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1952 to 1974, and as Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural from 1974 to 1984.
The modern democratic era of Mongolia started after the Mongolian Revolution of 1990.
Khorloogiin Choibalsan was a Mongolian politician who served as the leader of the Mongolian People's Republic as chairman of the Council of Ministers (premier) from 1939 until his death in 1952. He was also commander-in-chief of the Mongolian People's Army from 1937, and chairman of the Presidium of the State Little Khural from 1929 to 1930. His rise to power in the 1930s was personally orchestrated by Joseph Stalin, and his rule was maintained by a repressive state and cult of personality. Choibalsan led a dictatorship and organized Stalinist purges in Mongolia between 1937 and 1939 as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat is a Mongolian political figure and a current member of the Constitutional Court of Mongolia. He served as a president of Mongolia from 1990 to 1997 first as Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural in 1990 then, as the President of the Mongolia from 1990 to 1997, he is the first President of Mongolia to be elected by direct popular vote.
Jambyn Batmönkh was a Mongolian communist political leader and economics professor. He was the leader of Mongolia from 1984 until its transition into democracy in 1990.
Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan was the prime minister of Mongolia from July 7, 1996 to April 23, 1998, the first in 80 years not belonging to the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party.
Miyegombyn Enkhbold is a Mongolian politician who was Prime Minister of Mongolia from January 2006 to November 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2007 to 2012. He has been Chairman of the State Great Khural, the Mongolian parliament, from 2016 to 2019.
Parliamentary elections were held in Mongolia on 29 June 2008. A total of 356 candidates ran for the 76 seats in the State Great Khural. According to official results published on 14 July, at least 39 seats were won by the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), and at least 25 seats by the main opposition party, the Democrats (DP). Ten seats remained subject to possible recounts.
Parliamentary elections were held in Mongolia in 1990. The State Great Khural was elected on 22 June 1990, with a second round on 29 June, at which time the Little Khural, the new second chamber, was also elected.
The Mongolian Revolution of 1990, known in Mongolia as the 1990 Democratic Revolution, was a peaceful democratic revolution which led to the country's transition to a multi-party system. It was inspired by the economic reforms of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and was one of the many revolutions of 1989. It was led mostly by young demonstrators who rallied at Sükhbaatar Square, in the capital city Ulaanbaatar. The main organisers of the demonstrations included Sanjaasürengiin Zorig, Erdeniin Bat-Üül, Davaadorjiin Ganbold, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Bat-Erdeniin Batbayar.
Dumaagiin Sodnom is a Mongolian political figure who served as Prime Minister of Mongolia from 1984 to 1990.
Presidential elections were held in Mongolia on 24 May 2009. They were contested between incumbent Nambaryn Enkhbayar, supported by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, and Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who had support of the Democratic Party and the opposition parties. Elbegdorj declared himself the victor before the count was official but based on his party's counts. Enkhbayar admitted a narrow defeat shortly after and said that he would respect the results, marking the second time an incumbent president had lost their bid for re-election - following Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat in the 1997 election.
Parliamentary elections were held in Mongolia on 28 June 2012 to elect 76 members of the State Great Khural. Also held during the parliamentary elections was the Ulaanbaatar city council election, the first time both have been held at the same time. For the first time, the election used vote counting machines by new parliamentary election laws to make the election fair.
The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party was a political party in Mongolia which was founded in 2010 by Nambaryn Enkhbayar. The party received approval to use the Mongolian People's Party's old name by the Supreme Court of Mongolia. Enkhbayar, former chairman of the original MPRP and a former President of Mongolia, was the party's leader. It merged back into the Mongolian People's Party in 2021.
Dashiin Damba was a Mongolian politician who was the First Secretary of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 1954 to 1958 during the brief period of collective leadership in the country after the death of Khorloogiin Choibalsan. Damba was ousted and sent into internal exile by leader Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal due to his support for de-Stalinization policies.
Gombojavyn Ochirbat is a Mongolian politician and trade union leader. He was the General Secretary of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party in March and April 1990 amid democratic constitutional reforms, and was then its Chairman from April 1990 to 1991.
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