During its plenary session on August 29 and 30, Parliament approved an amendment to the government structure and composition and newly-appointed ministers swore their oaths to Parliament in accordance with Article 39.4 of the Constitution and Article 23.2 of the Law on the Government of Mongolia.
In accordance with the amendment, Cabinet now consists of 16 ministries, including four ministries of general function and 12 sectoral ministries. In total, Cabinet has 21 members in addition to the prime minister.
Four of the 21 cabinet members, namely J.Sukhbaatar, J.Ganbaatar, N.Uchral and Kh.Bolorchuluun, are first timers in a Cabinet role, while Prime Minister S.Amarsaikhan, Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs Kh.Nyambaatar, Minister of Construction and Urban Development B.Munkhbaatar, Minister of Health S.Enkhbold, Minister of Finance B.Javkhlan, Minister of Culture Ch.Nomin, Minister of Environment and Tourism B.Bat-Erdene, Minister of Foreign Relations B.Battsetseg, Minister of Defense G.Saikhanbayar and Minister of Education and Science L.Enkh-Amgalan will continue to serve in their original positions.
In addition to 16 ministers, Cabinet now has a deputy prime minister, head of the Cabinet Secretariat (minister), head of the State Committee for Port Revitalization (minister), head of the State Committee for Reducing Traffic Congestion in Ulaanbaatar (minister), and head of the State Committee for Physical Education and Sport (minister).
Introducing the government’s new structure and composition, Premier L.Oyun-Erdene said, “In accordance with Resolution No. 02 of 2022 of the Constitutional Court of Mongolia and the amendments made to the Constitution of Mongolia on August 25, there is a legal requirement to harmonize the legal regulations for the structure and composition of Cabinet.”
He added, “In accordance with the ‘Vision-2050’ long-term development policy and the New Revival Policy, there is an urgent need to create new members of Cabinet responsible for developing national and professional sports under a unified policy and regulation, and supporting efforts to reduce traffic congestion and improve border ports. Therefore, taking into account the needs and requirements, the draft amendment to the Law on Government of Mongolia was developed. Following the principle of merit, I propose to appoint some chairs of standing committees as ministers.”
As proposed by the prime minister, Secretary-General of the Mongolian People’s Party D.Amarbayasgalan was appointed as head of the Cabinet Secretariat. He graduated from the School of Information Technology of the Mongolian University of Science and Technology with a bachelor’s degree in 2003 and later graduated from the School of Social Sciences of the National University of Mongolia (NUM) in 2011.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Budget Ch.Khurelbaatar was appointed as minister of economy and development. He graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Finance and Economics with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1991. He also studied economics at the University of Sydney. Ch.Khurelbaatar was previously elected to Parliament four times and served as minister of finance from 2017 to 2021.
New Minister of Roads and Transport Development S.Byambatsogt graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Finance and Economics of Mongolia in 1999, from the Maastricht University in 2005 and from the Law School of NUM in 2014. He has a master’s degree in economics, business administration and law. From 2016 to 2017, he worked as minister of justice and internal affairs.
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Economy J.Ganbaatar was appointed as minister of mining and heavy industry. He was previously elected to Parliament in 2016 and 2020.
Newly-appointed Minister of Labor and Social Protection D.Sarangerel graduated from Omsk Technological College with a degree in photography in 1973. She studied journalism at the Rostov State University of Russia. She has been a lawmaker since 2012 and has served as both the minister of health and the minister of environment and tourism.
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Environment, Food and Agriculture Kh.Bolorchuluun was appointed as minister of food, agriculture and light industry. In 1987, he graduated from the Mongolian University of Life Sciences. Since 2012, he has been a member of Parliament.
New Minister of Digital Development and Communications N.Uchral graduated from the Ikh Zasag University in 2007, from the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in 2010, from the Mongolian State University of Education in 2012 and from the University of Buckingham in 2020. He has a master’s degree in business administration, history and international management in addition to holding a doctorate in history. He was elected to Parliament in 2016 and 2020.
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Industrialization Policy B.Choijilsuren was appointed as minister of energy. He served as minister of finance from 2016 to 2017.
Head of the National Committee for Reducing Traffic Congestion in Ulaanbaatar or Minister J.Sukhbaatar studied law at NUM for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was elected as a member of Parliament in 2008 and 2020.
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Ethics and Discipline B.Bat-Erdene has been appointed as head of the State Committee for Physical Education and Sport (minister). He graduated from the Military Institute of the Ministry of Public Security in 1990 and from NUM in 2000. From 2016 to 2017, he served as minister of defense.
As the Constitution of Mongolia reads, Cabinet members are to be appointed with approval from Parliament and the president of Mongolia. The newly appointed ministers pledged to Parliament, “As a member of the government, I will respect the interests of our country, statehood, historical and cultural traditions and the Constitution of Mongolia, and I will be free from corruption and conflicts of interest, and be personally accountable to the state, people and the prime minister of Mongolia. I swear that I will fulfill my duties as a member of the government fairly. If I break this oath, I will accept punishment.”
The Constitutional Court issued Resolution No. 2 and repealed Clause 2 of Article 39.1 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the prime minister and no more than four members of Cabinet may concurrently hold positions as members of Parliament. In this regard, the Constitution and relevant laws were amended. Accordingly, the newly-formed Cabinet has 13 ministers with “double deel” (holding dual posts in Cabinet and Parliament), namely B.Javkhlan, J.Sukhbaatar, Ch.Khurelbaatar, D.Sarangerel, S.Byambatsogt, Kh.Bolorchuluun, J.Ganbaatar, B.Bat-Erdene, Kh.Nyambaatar, S.Amarsaikhan, L.Enkh-Amgalan, N.Uchral and B.Choijilsuren.
