Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (Mongolian: Цахиагийн Элбэгдорж, also referred to as Elbegdorj Tsakhia, born March 30, 1963) is the 4th and current President of Mongolia. He won the election on May 24, 2009 and was sworn into office on June 18, 2009. He was the candidate of the Democratic Party, thus he became Mongolia's first president to never have been a member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party and the first to obtain a Western education. Elbegdorj was one of the key leaders of the peaceful democratic revolution in 1990 that ended 70 years of communist rule.

Elbegdorj has been the Prime Minister of Mongolia twice, the vice speaker of the Parliament of Mongolia once, the majority leader of the parliament once, and a member of parliament four times. He is known as a pro-democracy, libertarian politician. Elbegdorj is also the founder of the Ardchilal (English: Democracy) newspaper.

Elbegdorj has held several offices in the Mongolian government and his policy objectives have mostly centered around post-soviet social and economic reforms with particular focus on liberalizing economic policies, privatizing livestock, environmental preservation, fighting corruption, initiating housing policies and more. His stances on corruption, the environment, and women’s rights have earned him the praise of leaders around the world. The United Nations Environmental Programme awarded President Elbegdorj as a Champion of the Earth in June 2012 for his commitment to environmental protection and in July 2012 US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton applauded Elbegdorj and Mongolia on the country’s democratic progress and efforts to end corruption during a speech to the International Women’s Leadership Forum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.