20 Years in Mongolia
Perspectives of 20 Mongolian leaders
1993-2013
Table of Contents
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Foreword by David D. Arnold, President of The Asia Foundation
Letter from H.E. Elbegdorj Tsakhia, The President of Mongolia
Message from Sheldon R. Severinghaus, Former Country Representative
Message from Katherine S. Hunter, Former Country Representative
Message from Layton Croft, Former Country Representative
Message from William S. Infante, Former Country Representative
Message from Meloney C. Lindberg, Current Country Representative
Perspectives on Democracy & the Rule of Law
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Mr. Tsagaan Puntsag, Chief of Staff, Office of the President of Mongolia
Mr. Bayar Sanjaa, Former Prime Minister
Mr. Suren Badral, Ambassador at Large
Mr. Temuujin Khishigdemberel, Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament
Mr. Tsogt Battogoo, Justice, Supreme Court of Mongolia
Perspectives on Governance & Transparency
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Ms. Burmaa Radnaa, Member of Parliament and Head of the Mongolian Chapter of
Parliamentarians Against Corruption
Mr. Sumati Luvsandendev, Director, Sant Maral Foundation
Ms. Naranjargal Khashkhuu, President and CEO, Globe International Center
Mr. Badruun Gardi, Executive Director, Zorig Foundation
Perspectives on Urban Governance
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Mr. Bat-Uul Erdene, Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar
Perspectives on Environment
Ms. Oyun Sanjaasuren, Minister of Environment and Green Development and
Member of Parliament
55 Ms. Enkhtuya Oidov, Mongolia Country Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
Perspectives on Women’s Empowerment
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Ms. Sukhjargalmaa Dugersuren, Chief Operating Officer, The Foundation for the
Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
Ms. Dolgor Badraa, Head, Mongolian Women Lawyers Association
Perspectives on Culture, Arts & Education
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Ms. Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and
Member of Parliament
Ms. Ariunaa Tserenpil, Executive Director, Arts Council of Mongolia
Ms. Bayaraa Bat-Erdene, Policy Officer for Libraries and Printing department,
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Perspectives on Business
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Mr. Od Jamts, President, MCS Group
Mr. Ganbold Chuluun, Chairman of the Boards of Directors of Tenger Financial
Group and XacBank
Mr. Demberel Sambuu, Member of Parliament and Chairman and CEO of the
Mongolia National Chamber of Commerce and Industry
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Foreword by the President of The Asia Foundation
It is a great pleasure for me to write a foreword to this publication, which features interviews of
twenty prominent and distinguished leaders in Mongolia on the occasion of The Asia Foundation’s
20th anniversary in Mongolia. As one of the first international organizations to come to Mongolia
in 1990, the Foundation has sought to support Mongolian leadership from the very beginning at
a historic time when the country was transitioning to both a democracy and a market economy.
Over the years, various grantees with the support of the Foundation have been able to visit leading
government and academic institutions in the United States as well as within Asia to learn and exchange
experiences. Many of the early grantees of those days are now in leading positions within Mongolian
society, including in politics, business, civil society, and academics.
In May 2012, together with the members of the Board of Trustees of The Asia Foundation, I
was fortunate enough to visit Mongolia and meet some of these leaders, including H.E. President
Elbegdorj Tsakhia. It was a delight to see so many diverse, talented, and highly committed people
working towards Mongolia’s future. Both the trustees as well the management of the Foundation were
deeply impressed by the results that Mongolia has been able to achieve in important areas such as
governance, democratization, civil society strengthening, environment, and women’s empowerment.
The personal stories of the leaders in this publication testify to the tremendous force for change that
exists within Mongolia.
Marking our 60th anniversary as an organization next year, The Asia Foundation remains committed
to continue to improve lives and expand opportunities, and support existing and emerging leadership
across a dynamic and developing Asia. It is for this reason that the Foundation recently has established
the new program, Asia Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s Future, which will
focus on identifying, training and developing the next generation of development and policy leaders
in Asia. I have no doubt that many of the emerging leaders in Mongolia will continue the tradition of
their country and play a leading role in Asia and beyond.
I would like to thank all counterparts and partners that we have worked with over the last 20 years
for their support and cooperation, and congratulate them in the tremendous achievements they have
made towards Mongolia’s development. Similarly, I would also like to express my gratitude to the
various public and private donors for their generous support of our programs in Mongolia. Without
their support, the Foundation would not have been able to contribute so meaningfully to Mongolia’s
success.
The Foundation looks forward to continue to support Mongolia in pursuing its path for the future.
David D. Arnold
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Letter from H.E. Elbegdorj Tsakhia, President of Mongolia,
to Mr. David Arnold, President of The Asia Foundation
Dear Mr. Arnold,
It is my honour to address this letter to The Asia Foundation on the occasion of its 20th anniversary in
Mongolia. I whole-heartedly congratulate the entire Asia Foundation team on the proud anniversary
of your noble mission in Mongolia.
I am delighted to acknowledge the pioneering role of The Asia Foundation as the first U.S. nongovernmental organization to enter Mongolia at the dawn of Mongolia’s democratic transformation,
and to support Mongolia in solving the uneasy challenges of Mongolia’s transition to democracy and
market economy.
Indeed, The Asia Foundation has played a tangible role in the success of Mongolia’s peaceful
transition. It has helped Mongolia to design and conduct reforms in many sectors of our society. Its
role in reforming the legal system and adopting the first democratic Constitution of Mongolia, the
supreme legal guarantee of the irreversibility of political and economic changes in Mongolia, was
indeed instrumental.
Over the past 20 years, The Asia Foundation has implemented a number projects and programs to
consolidate democracy, good governance and citizen engagement; secure human rights and ensure
access to justice; solve pressing environmental issues; empower women; and promote dialogues on
regional cooperation. The Books for Asia donations have been deeply appreciated by the Mongolian
people.
I do hope that The Asia Foundation will continue its operations in Mongolia and will further support
Mongolia in deepening the democratization process at the subnational level.
Mongolia is happy to continue its partnership and time-tested friendship with The Asia Foundation,
to share the lessons and experiences of our peaceful transition with emerging and young democracies
around the globe to help build a more prosperous world.
Yours sincerely,
President of Mongolia
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
Ulaanbaatar, September 4, 2013
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Message from Sheldon R. Severinghaus
Former Country Representative
1990–1998
It was 23 years ago, in the Spring of 1990, that Mongolia’s great statesman and constitutional lawyer,
Mr. B. Chimid, suggested to The Asia Foundation’s then-President, Mr. William Fuller, that the
Foundation open a resident office in Ulaanbaatar (UB). The Foundation’s program with Mongolia
had already begun that year with the visit to the U.S. of Mr. Chimid to look at the U.S. system of
representative government under the constitutional rule of law. I was lucky enough to be directing
the program.
Three years later, on October 1, 1993, the Foundation opened its office in UB with financial assistance
from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Our new office was in the historic Log Cabin
behind the Lenin Museum. Given Mongolia’s three-year-old democracy movement, the Log Cabin’s
address was appropriately on “Revolutionary Street, Freedom Square.”
In a summer trip to UB in 1993, I went looking for an office with the Foundation’s Liaison Officer
at the time, Ms. O. Gereltuya. Well into its momentous transition process to a market-oriented
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democracy, Mongolia was welcoming new foreign organizations and foreign assistance. Businesses
and individuals were eager to rent out office space for U.S. dollars. Gereltuya and I stopped in at all
kinds of places to see if they would be appropriate for the Foundation’s office. One day, we drove
around behind the Lenin Museum, and THERE was the Log Cabin! I said immediately, “That’s it!
That’s our office!”
Gereltuya and I checked it out. We learned about its history going back to 1909, including being used
as headquarters for Sukhbaatar’s revolution. By 1993, it had become a historic landmark for the city
of Ulaanbaatar. The journalist-historian, Mr. Baabar, was using it as an office for his new newspaper,
Unuudur. The Foundation rented part of the second floor of the Log Cabin. I had hired Ms. B.
Oyunbileg as the Foundation’s first Program Officer. She actually opened the office on October 1st.
I arrived a month later. We had two chairs and a desk which we shared until we could find enough
furniture for a full office, which wasn’t easy in those days of scarce everything. During the cold winter
months, we also shared the building’s ground floor with many frozen carcasses of livestock, which
meat dealers used as a storage point for their sales elsewhere.
And so The Asia Foundation’s first office opened in Mongolia. In looking back on those days, I feel
incredibly fortunate and privileged to have been the Foundation’s Representative in Mongolia during
the formative years of its new democracy and to have worked with so many of its leaders, young
and old, as they shaped the form of their new government. It was and remains a model for peaceful
transitions from authoritarian governments to free societies.
For me as an American, the whole experience was perhaps something akin to being alive and present
during the drafting and signing of our own Declaration of Independence in 1776, combined later
with the signing of our own Constitution, two hundred years before the democracy movement began
in Mongolia. I was witnessing the birth of a new democracy. It was a priceless experience, as it would
be for any American. And I will forever cherish those enduring friendships made in the Log Cabin
and before.
Sheldon R. Severinghaus
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Message from Katherine S. Hunter
Former Country Representative
1998–2001, 1996–1997 (Assistant Country Representative)
My warmest congratulations to the Mongolia office of The Asia Foundation on the occasion of its
20th anniversary. This enduring relationship is a tribute to the strong partnership of cooperation with
Mongolia’s leaders, government institutions, and civil society organizations over these 20 years for the
benefit of the Mongolian people.
I have many warm memories from my years as Representative and Assistant Representative
to Mongolia with the Foundation. One of my most enduring memories will be the bravery and
courage of the governmental and non-governmental Mongolian leaders, after adoption of the new
constitution, in creating the reality and new norms of Mongolia’s democracy. It is clear from reading
about Mongolia that the early efforts have flowered into ongoing initiatives and accomplishments
that built on the foundation from those years.That foundation included many initiatives. For instance,
the National Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Watch
Network was established as the first-ever NGO effort to monitor government performance. This
was unprecedented in Mongolia and set the tone and structure for constructive engagement on
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Mongolia’s implementation of the UN’s CEDAW convention on women’s rights. Another example is
the work of the National Center Against Violence (NCAV) over a ten-year period in policy reform,
cooperating with the Parliament to enact the country’s domestic violence law in protection of its
women and children. For attention to local governance, early work includes the Uvurkhangai branch
of the Women for Social Progress’s establishment of a consultative framework for participatory
monitoring of the provincial budget, another first for Mongolia’s new democracy. The Political
Education Academy’s work on analysis of progress in implementing the country’s new constitution
was a first and important contribution to establishment of constitutional studies. The Foundation
is proud of its cooperation with the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in developing and
deepening relations with the Asia-Pacific region. I am also reflecting on the presentations at the
2003 conference commemorating the Foundation’s 10th anniversary in Mongolia, where so many
governmental and non-governmental participants provided excellent insights into the first decade of
change in democratic government and governance throughout society.
My hope is that the “swallows of democracy” flying around in the blue sky of Mongolia’s democracy
are even more plentiful today, helping Mongolia and Mongolians face the challenges and issues of
the 21st century with as much courage, conviction, and spirit as they have shown over the years. The
Asia Foundation has been honored to cooperate with so many Mongolian leaders and institutions in
fulfilling these dreams and promises, and that commitment will remain constant in the years to come.
Katherine S. Hunter
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Message from Layton Croft
Former Country Representative
May 2003–June 2005
Angels on Earth: The Privilege of Learning from Unsung Heroes
Mongolian people are proud. And they have a right to be. Centuries ago, throughout the socialist
era, and still today, the Mongolian word for hero, baatar, is one taken and used with reverence.
The most famous Mongolian heroes are ubiquitous household names here and studied worldwide
through history, politics, and culture. Mongolia’s modern capital city means Red Hero in English.
Many Mongolians, mostly men, have baatar as part of their name.
Then there are the heroes unnamed and uncelebrated. There are no statues built in their honor,
books written about them, or fame and fortune. They are driven by love, compassion, devotion
to cause, human rights, the rule of law, and the principle of putting others before self. And many,
though not all of them, are women. Thanks to The Asia Foundation, I had the privilege of working
with and learning from such Mongolian heroes.
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Of all the meaningful and compelling experiences I had as Mongolia Representative, the greatest
highlight was my time working with, and learning from, the National Center Against Violence
(NCAV-www.safefuture.mn). Established in 1995 as a women’s shelter and service provider, the
NCAV is a non-profit, non-governmental, non-religious organization devoted to preventing and
eliminating violence in Mongolia, with a focus on families. The Center provides shelter, counseling,
and vocational services to women, children, and men across the country, and has also become a
leading policy and legal reform advocate.
By necessity, the NCAV flies under the radar and does not seek publicity or attention, as protecting and
nurturing the people it serves - physically, emotionally and legally - is paramount to its mission. This
fact creates challenges in influencing policy and regulatory reform vis-à-vis Mongolia’s parliament,
government, and law enforcement agencies. But thanks to Mongolian heroes such as Enkhjargal
Davaasuren, a defense and human rights attorney by training and tireless employee and leader of the
NCAV since 1997, progress in advancing a progressive legal and regulatory environment to prevent
and punish violence in Mongolia is being made.
The Foundation worked with Enkhjargal and the NCAV in research and policy advocacy leading up
to intense parliamentary debate and, ultimately, landmark passage of the 2004 Law against Domestic
Violence. While groundbreaking on one hand, the Law’s implementation has proven difficult and
troubled on the other, plagued by inconsistencies and incompatibility with other relevant laws and
policies, as well as regulatory shortcomings and obstacles. But the NCAV team is undeterred, and is
determined to amend the Law.
The focus of the amendment was to make domestic violence a crime. The NCAV has launched a robust
initiative to engage and lobby lawmakers and their constituents - through case advocacy, letter-writing
campaigns, and a documentary film - to improve the efficacy of the Law in eliminating domestic violence.
My role in this story, on behalf of The Asia Foundation, was that of a humble partner in solidarity.
As I reflect on that experience, however, more than anything I was a witness to the work of angels
on earth. I am certain I learned and received much more from the heroes at the NCAV than likewise
they from me. And for that I am eternally grateful.
Layton Croft
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Message from William S. Infante
Former Country Representative
January 2006–June 2009
The Asia Foundation: Partnering with Mongolia
Twenty years ago, when The Asia Foundation opened its office in Mongolia, the needs in the country
were many. In the immediate aftermath of the changes caused by the transformation of the Soviet
Union, Mongolia’s needs centered on building the stable and functioning democracy that exists today.
In early 2006, I arrived in Mongolia, a country that I had dreamt for many years of visiting or working
in. At that time, the country had a handful of presidential and parliamentary elections under its belt,
there was a vibrant and influential NGO sector, and institutions existed to protect human rights.
These realities stood as testament to the hard work invested by Mongolians across the country in
building and consolidating democracy, but the economic transformation that had been set in motion
had yet to gain traction. Per capita GDP remained low, and the public sector remained the dominant
employer.
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After consultation with counterparts in the public and private sectors, in Ulaanbaatar and across the
country, the Foundation redirected programming in order to underpin economic growth and respond
to the contemporary and evolving needs of the country. This shift reflected national attitudes, and was
also consistent with regional trends. Mongolia had participated in the three cycles of Asia Barometer
research, which surveyed public opinion on political values, democracy, and governance. Mongolia,
like countries in the region, had expressed strong preference for democratic initiatives in the early
1990s at the dawn of the transition, but was increasingly calling for actions to promote governance
and growth.
People in Mongolia wanted transparency and accountability. As a result of this expression of need, the
Foundation supported several initiatives, including the establishment of the Independent Authority
Against Corruption. The government adopted a three-pronged approach comprising enforcement,
prevention, and public awareness - all three critical to the long-term effort of building a better climate
for investment and business. Over three years, sentiments started to change. Credibility, trust, and
perceptions of the government began to improve. The wheels had been set in motion.
People also wanted jobs and prosperity. They wanted to ensure that mining and the economic growth
that it promised were responsible and sustainable. The Foundation facilitated a multi-stakeholder
process that included senior government officials, influential civil society representatives, academia,
and the private sector. A ten-point agreement was hammered out in a welcome display of consensus
and cooperation. Information was gathered and disseminated through NGOs and through the
Responsible Mining Initiative, which was created as an advocate for sound policies and practices.
These early efforts were important to building a modicum of trust, and they established a precedent
for multi-stakeholder engagement in decision-making and policy formulation.
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary in Mongolia, The Asia Foundation celebrates with the people
of Mongolia a relationship that is based upon cooperation and partnership. The Asia Foundation and
I are honored to have been trusted and credible allies in efforts to build a stable and sound democracy
that is accountable and transparent, and a competitive and market-oriented economy that generates
growth, jobs, and prosperity.
William S. Infante
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Message from Meloney C. Lindberg
Current Country Representative
July 2009–Present
Earlier this year, when I was thinking about a special way to mark The Asia Foundation’s 20th
anniversary in Mongolia, I wanted to hear directly from some of the many partners we have worked
with over the years. I reached out to some of our first partners here, who had been given opportunities
in the very early 1990s to learn from and experience other democracies; I spoke to partners who are
considered the cornerstones of Mongolia’s civil society and women’s movement; and I met with
partners who are promoting a free and open media, strengthening access to educational resources
and the arts, and upholding justice.
It was a great privilege for me to be able to interview some of these pioneering Mongolian leaders
for this publication. The thread that unites them is their commitment to make Mongolia a wellinformed, transparent, and accountable society. I believe that their personal accounts of Mongolia’s
development, their role in this process, and their current contribution to Mongolian society serve as
a great inspiration for us all.
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Mongolia has undergone a rapid transformation over the last two decades. The Asia Foundation is
proud to have contributed to Mongolia’s remarkable development by supporting drivers for reform
and key agents of change in this vibrant democracy. In the four years that I have been in Mongolia, I
have seen our program grow in size, and reach into new and exciting areas as the range of partners we
work with has expanded. Currently, we operate at both the national and sub-national levels, partnering
with government, local authorities, academics, civil society, citizens, and the private sector.
Our programs in governance support citizen participation in local decision-making; they keep the
public informed about how citizens and business owners nationwide view and experience corruption;
and they increase access to services for residents in ger areas of Ulaanbaatar. Our environment
program advances responsible resource use and environmental rehabilitation, and it helps rural
communities affected by artisanal mining to mediate issues through multi-stakeholder councils. Our
programs to empower women include support for the effective implementation of anti-trafficking
legislation by the Mongolian government, scholarships for young women studying in scientific fields,
and support for vulnerable women to become entrepreneurs through small-scale farming.
To mark the occasion of our 20th anniversary in Mongolia, we thought it fitting to announce the
establishment of the Friends of The Asia Foundation Mongolia Network, which will serve as a
platform for those we have worked with over the years, and those who will be our partners in the
future, to stay connected with us and our work in Mongolia.
From our support for Mongolia’s historic transition to a democracy and a market economy, to our
current country program, The Asia Foundation is honored to have worked with so many remarkable
individuals over the last 20 years, and we look forward to remaining a long-term partner to improve
lives and expand opportunities for all Mongolians.
Meloney C. Lindberg
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Perspectives on
Democracy &
the Rule of Law
Mr. Tsagaan Puntsag
Chief of Staff, Office of the President of Mongolia
You have had a long and distinguished career in a wide variety of professions. You started at the Confederation of
Mongolian Trade Unions; you have been deputy labor minister; minister of finance; minister of education, culture and
science; and you are currently heading the president’s office. What has been the most remarkable moment in your career?
First, I have some doubts whether I’m considered a distinguished leader. I consider myself a very
lucky citizen of Mongolia, because I’ve seen the remarkable, historical transition from a planned
economy to a market economy, and from a totalitarian society to a democracy, through votes, through
elections. I’m proud that I was a very small part of this process. The adoption of the new constitution
was really a remarkable event, in which The Asia Foundation played a significant, positive role. It was
a legal guarantee of the irreversibility of democratic changes in Mongolia, irrespective of election
results, irrespective of leaders.
What are the biggest opportunities and challenges that Mongolia’s mineral wealth holds for the country?
Mongolia is a very rich country in potential mineral wealth, but this wealth holds both opportunities
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and threats for Mongolia. If we manage it well, then Mongolia will become a wealthy nation. If we
manage it poorly, Mongolia may be doomed to corruption and chaos.
As one of the world’s fastest growing economies, with a lively, new democracy, how do you see Mongolia’s role in the
region now and in the future?
I think we face challenges, and we also have ambition. Mongolia became an example of democracy
in this part of the world. We changed the old stereotype that democracy, human rights, and market
economies are difficult to apply in Asian countries. But our ambition is not only to become a vibrant,
mature democracy but also to manage our mineral wealth in the interests of the nation, to secure
sustainable development.
In the last 23 years, we became an electoral democracy, but the journey of democracy is not ended.
The people have to be in power, and key decisions such as minerals development have to be decided
by citizens, not by politicians, not by Members of Parliament. Twenty-three years ago, key decisions
were made by and in the Kremlin. Thanks to the democratic revolution, decision-making moved to
this building, where it is kind of stuck, and we want to shift this power to the people.
As the legal assistant to the Secretary General of the State Baga Khural of Mongolia, you played an instrumental role
in shaping Mongolia’s constitution. Can you describe what it was like when Mongolia became a democracy?
I had a very modest but important role in shaping the constitution, because my boss, the secretary
general, is considered a founding father of the constitution. He had only one little assistant, however,
who was Tsagaan. And of course he knew Russian, Mongolian, and our whole history quite well, but
I knew a little bit more about international law and the constitutional law of so-called “bourgeois”
countries, so we were kind of complementary. As his assistant, I think I read the draft constitution
more than any other person in the country, because there wasn’t a single computer in this building—
only a typewriter—so when something was edited, I had to read and ask. So I made some intelligent
contributions.
During the drafting of the constitution, The Asia Foundation brought many distinguished, outstanding
scholars from the U.S. and other places for organized seminars and conferences on constitutional
issues, from which I learned a lot that I tried to apply to the constitution.
As one of the early grantees of The Asia Foundation, what are your recollections of working with us then? What has changed
since those early days?
I’m honored to have been selected by The Asia Foundation to go to the West, and those were memorable
days—the San Francisco Asia Foundation office, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerica Tower,
the Bank of America building. It was an eye-opening trip. I also learned a lot at the law school of
George Washington University, where I had as my mentor Professor Thomas Buergenthal, a member
of the International Court of Justice for ten years, representing the U.S. until two years ago. So I
learned many things, and the knowledge, the information, the contacts have been useful throughout
my lifetime. It was a very crucial moment in my life. So thank you, Asia Foundation.
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Prior to joining the president’s office, you were working for the private sector, and your company, Steppe Solar, opened the
first ever Eco Model House, with solar energy and geothermal heating. How do you see Mongolia’s future development
from an environmental perspective?
It was the first such project, and it was both a success and a failure. We proved that it can be done, but
we failed because the contractor failed to build a proper building. It was kind of a costly experience,
but the second project and other projects were successful.
It is very interesting that nomadic Mongolians get a lot of benefit from renewable energy. In 1999,
a group of my friends were sitting together, and we said let’s try to create renewable energy for
Mongolian nomads. Now, when you go to the countryside, you’ll see a caravan of camels carrying
solar panels and a TV dish. My ancestors in rural areas, including me when I was a child, used to study
by candlelight. Now this has changed thanks to renewable energy. And this has just happened in the
last 15 years, so it is amazing.
Mongolia not only has abundant coal but also has abundant renewable energy sources - wind, solar
- so Mongolia should be, not a brown economy, but renewable and green, which is why the current
government has a Ministry for Green Development. So it is a matter of time.
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In your view, what has been The Asia Foundation’s main contribution towards improving lives and opportunities in
Mongolia?
In my view, not only The Asia Foundation but leaders of the government of any nation have to create
opportunities for people to improve their lives. The government’s role is to create equal opportunities
for all citizens, and to improve the working environment, health, and education.
The Asia Foundation has organized many study opportunities for our leaders, both young and old,
in the U.S. and other Asian countries. Many Mongolians, including me, have had a chance to study
in the U.S. and other places. Now our needs are changing. Now changing power through elections
is easy, but managing the country, improving living standards, improving the business environment,
and strengthening the rule of law are much more difficult. So accordingly, the activities of The Asia
Foundation also have been evolving. So let’s continue our work and journey together.
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Mr. Bayar Sanjaa
Former Prime Minister
You are a former prime minister and a leader of the current opposition party, the Mongolian People’s Party. What first
motivated you to pursue a political career?
I do not know, really, why a man called Bayar became involved in politics. I think no one here in
Mongolia can give a clear answer to that, because it was so unexpected. If you recall, the end of the
eighties and the beginning of the nineties was a very exciting time, not just for Mongolia but for the
whole world. Everything was changing, everything was exciting, life was hectic, active, and joyful. The
motivation was to make Mongolia a better place, but how to do that?
I never thought of becoming a politician. I was young. However, I had the will and motivation to be
a part of the democratic reforms, and this is how I became involved in politics. Many men from our
generation became involved in politics, like me, unexpectedly.
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The Asia Foundation supported us by organizing a very interesting trip in the winter of 1991 for a
group of Members of Parliament to visit the United States to see how democracy works there and
to gather some ideas for a new constitution. This trip really motivated us to start the long process of
democratic reform in Mongolia.
How do you view democracy in Mongolia today, after 20 years of democratic reforms? What are Mongolia’s greatest
achievements, and what pressing challenges lie ahead?
Well, it is still a process. We cannot say that Mongolia is now a perfect example of democracy, but
we are trying. We made some outstanding achievements, but we made mistakes of course. Everyone
can see that Mongolia is a country with democratic institutions, a multi-party system, and a market
economy. You can see that people are free. The press is more than free—no boundaries, no limits. So
after 20 years, I think the balance is positive.
But of course we still have big challenges. The biggest one, I think, is the constitution. We were able
to draft a very good constitution—you know, basic ideas, principles, they are working very well. But
as a lawyer I have some doubts. For example, no one can tell whether Mongolia is a parliamentary
republic, a presidential republic, or a mixture. This mixture creates lots of institutional contradictions.
The relationship between the president and prime minister is always contradictory. The main question
is who is responsible for what. Therefore, I think we should change the constitution to make it clear
whether it’s a parliamentary republic, or a presidential republic like America.
You were Prime Minister from 2007 to 2009 during the early days of the Independent Authority Against Corruption,
and you were an early advocate for each government ministry and agency to develop its own anti-corruption action plan.
What are your views on this effort today?
Corruption is the biggest challenge for Mongolian democracy. You know, Mongolia has a different
tradition—different from the Chinese or the Russian or the Central Asian. Corruption and bribery
were not a Mongolian state tradition. I cannot say why - maybe because it is not easy for corruption to
grow in a country with a small population and deep-rooted connections between people, and various
social strata. But after the nineties, when we all became free persons, the problem of corruption
appeared on the horizon, and now we see corruption everywhere, from the lowest levels to the
highest.
I think the anti-corruption agency is working quite well in general, but it would be a mistake to think
that a good law and just one agency are enough. We should educate people and civil servants. Also, I
think we should create a Mongolian model of how to fight corruption, because fighting corruption
in America, fighting corruption in Africa, fighting corruption in Europe is different. These regions
are different from Mongolia in environment, in tradition, in mentality, and in culture. There are some
good examples for Mongolia in Hong Kong and Singapore, as I would say we are closer in mentality. I
think our model might be a mixture of the tools people use in Singapore and maybe something from
Europe. America is a good example of a society with zero tolerance for corruption. In conclusion, it’s
a big social, political and economic problem in Mongolia, but we are on the right path.
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You mentioned your early travel to the U.S., and you were also one of the earliest grantees of The Asia Foundation
when you attended the University of Washington’s Jackson School in 1992 to study national security. What did you
bring back from those studies?
I found out that I knew almost nothing about the real history of Mongolia. All those books had
been closed, forbidden, because they hid a totally different history of Mongolia. So that was the most
important thing for me. It was also a good time to start to understand what role Mongolia was going
to play in modern Asia. I was involved in a big project called Northeast Asia after the Cold War. It
was a chance for me to see geopolitical economic trends.
The Asia Foundation aims to improve lives and increase opportunities across all of Asia. In your view, what has been
The Asia Foundation’s main contribution toward improving lives here in Mongolia, and what role do you see for the
Foundation in the next 20 years?
I was closely connected with The Asia Foundation at the very beginning, so I know the prominent
role it played in drafting the new constitution and establishing projects and programs related to the
rule of law. The Asia Foundation was the main international organization that helped us understand
what the new constitution of Mongolia should be, what main ideas we should include, what principles
we should establish as pillars of the main legal document of our country. It was the key link in the
founding of what is now modern Mongolia.
The Asia Foundation is setting up a new program, Asia Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s
Future, which will focus on identifying, training, and developing the next generation of development and policy leaders
in Asia. As a leader in Mongolia, what advice would you give to a new generation of young leaders?
I believe that the most important thing here in Mongolia is education. Mongolia has lots of advantages,
but we still do not use them properly. The young generation needs to understand the history of
Mongolia in the twentieth century—what Mongolia was before, what we are doing now, and what
are our main goals. Without education, no GDP per capita will be enough, but with education, this
nation has a bright future.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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Mr. Badral Suren
Ambassador-at-Large
You have had a long career in the diplomatic service. What made you pursue a career in the area of foreign affairs?
Actually, I didn’t choose; I was chosen. At the time of the socialist government, before the 1990
revolution, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party would go to the countryside, to the rural
areas, to pick the most promising high school graduates to join the foreign ministry. Students studied
for the diplomatic service at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, which was the
most prominent diplomatic school of the Soviet bloc. By the mid-1970s, most of these students were
from the elite. So they decided that was not great, and that they would select students from ordinary
families—herdsmen, workers. So today the most senior diplomats in the foreign ministry are mostly
from rural areas. That was what happened to me.
I resisted going, because my interest in school was math and engineering. I wanted to go to engineering
school - invent something. But eventually I submitted. The one condition I put to the foreign ministry
was that the university where I was going to study should have math courses. So normally the foreign
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ministry sent students to the Department of International Relations at the Moscow Institute, but I
was sent to the Department of International Trade, which had mathematical courses.
How have Mongolia’s international relations changed over the years, and what are the current priorities?
Mongolia’s international relations have changed dramatically over the last 20 years. We were in the
Soviet bloc; our foreign policy was dictated, even financed, by the Soviet Union, so we had to follow
instructions from the Soviet diplomats, even at the United Nations. If you didn’t, you would be
dismissed immediately, if not arrested.
With the 1990 revolution, we took our foreign policy into our own hands and started to expand our
foreign relations in the interests of our own country, not of the Soviet bloc. Now our diplomatic
relations, as well as our economic and trade relations, are so extensive that our foreign ministry is
understaffed.
Was it at the time of the separation from the Soviet bloc that the Mongolian “third neighbor” policy was introduced,
and how did that come about?
The third neighbor policy was one of our first steps as a truly independent country after the collapse
of the Soviet bloc. The concept was that we should become less dependent on our two neighbors.
You know, we always say that Mongolia is at the crossroads of northern Siberia’s cold and southern
China’s warmth. That’s why our weather is so unstable, and they say that applies to our politics, too.
Mongolia has been the stage where our two neighbors have tried to dominate, each at the cost of the
other. Whenever one is dominant, the other is unhappy, and clashes happen in Mongolian politics. So
we introduced this third neighbor policy to gain some leverage against these two neighbors, to kind
of guarantee our stability.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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What has been the highlight of your diplomatic career?
I would say it was 1978, the first time I went to the United States. It was my last year at university,
and I was sent by the foreign ministry to work as an intern in our mission in New York. I lived and
worked there for about four months. That was amazing, because, you know, I was coming from the
hard-line Soviet culture, and when I went to the United States, I saw a completely different world in
New York than had been described by our professors in the Soviet system. In New York I purchased
a FM radio, which you couldn’t get in the Soviet Union. That was a turning point of my life. I was
listening to the Voice of America.
As Ambassador-at-Large you were instrumental in Mongolia’s highly successful presidency of the Community of
Democracies. What would you say were Mongolia’s key achievements during this chairmanship, and how do you assess
the current state of democracy in Mongolia?
Mongolia took over the chairmanship at the beginning of the reforms that started during the
chairmanship of Lithuania from 2009 to 2011. It was Mongolia that implemented the proposed
reforms. We did it well, and in a very short period of time. We made the governing council actionable,
productive, and more accelerated. Now the governing council discusses and decides on practical
steps by the community.
The second achievement, of course, was the resolution on democracy education. We managed to
have it adopted without a word by all 193 members of the United Nations, including North Korea,
China, and Russia. That is the outstanding achievement, I would say.
Our chairmanship has given us a very good opportunity to assess where we are, and to compare
Mongolia to the state of democracy in other countries. As against other developing countries,
especially the other Asian countries, our democracy is one of the more advanced in Asia. The whole
of Mongolia has realized that we are in good shape, on the right track. Of course there are a lot
of mistakes, but generally we are doing comparatively well. So that is a good inspiration for us, you
know?
What will be the greatest needs and challenges for Mongolia as a democracy in the next 20 years, and what role do you
think The Asia Foundation can play?
I think the next 20 years will be very important for Mongolia to improve its democracy. We have been
building a foundation for the last 20 years; now it is time to think about quality, which would mean
that democracy should become the norm, not just in the political sphere but throughout society.
So The Asia Foundation, I think, could be useful. Your young leadership program should continue,
and so should your assistance in advancing Education for Democracy, our favorite subject now.
And women’s leadership: you have become the most expert organization in working for women’s
leadership. Our women are becoming more active. We succeeded last year with more women MPs
than ever before, but it’s not enough. We need more women in the executive branch - more ministers,
and more deputy ministers.
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Mr.Temuujin Khishigdemberel
Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament
You are a Member of Parliament and Minister of Justice. What is it like to fill these critical roles in Mongolia?
In my capacity as an MP, I work on making policy and making law. As Minister of Justice, I work
on law enforcement and public safety. I see these activities as one interconnected process. As a law
enforcement ministry, we are working within the economic reality on the ground, which is outside
the scope of Parliament. While I don’t see a discrepancy in these activities, I don’t rule out small or
possible conflicts that may come up in my work.
You have had a dynamic career as a lecturer, a lawyer, a member of civil society, and now a government minister. What
inspired you to take this path?
When I was young I was interested in being an architect, and one day, one of my brother’s German
friends, who was studying to become a lawyer, asked me about my studies. He went on to say that, in
fact, we were studying for similar professions: an architect is a person who works on improving the
physical environment, and a lawyer works as a social architect by improving the social environment.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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After this discussion, I started studying law, and after finishing The School of Law of the National
University, I became more interested in policy analysis and policymaking. At university, independent
research possibilities were very limited, and because of that, young scholars like me came together
and established a social policy think tank to explore new ideas. In the past, the teaching at universities
in Mongolia was based on the dogmatic theories of Marxism, but we were looking for a more modern
approach to our research. In 2000, we started to learn more about foreign comparative methodologies
with the help of foreign experts.
When our think tank first came up with a policy analysis report based on the results of our research, it
was very difficult to get it approved by high-level professors and institutions. On one occasion, I even
shared my research with the minister who then held my position, and I was taken out of the room and
told that my ideas are not workable in reality, and only applicable in a lecture room. He told me that
if I wanted to accomplish these new ideas and policies, I would need to become minister of justice
myself. This was the event that pushed me to start working in politics. In 2006, the current president,
Mr. Elbegdorj, who had just resigned as the Prime Minister, came to the National University and met
with scholars like me. He offered an opportunity to cooperate on reforming the judicial sector of the
country. I was appointed the Secretary of the Democratic Party. From 2002 to 2008, we worked as a
team on judicial reform as part of our party platform. In 2008, I was elected to Parliament.
What have been some of your top priorities and accomplishments?
One of our party’s biggest successes has been that the 12 years of research on judicial reform was
accepted as a policy document, and that the government started to realize the importance of it. In
2008 the People’s Party won, and we no longer held the majority in Parliament. But in 2009, President
Elbegdorj came up with a new platform for reforming the judicial sector and for the fight against
corruption, which was structurally based on that 12-year study. As President he understood that
this type of social reform could not be achieved without effective legal sector reform. Of course,
the President alone cannot accomplish all of these legal sector reforms, but his promises were the
starting point. In 2012, I was appointed Minister of Justice, and as such I now have the opportunity
to start implementing those policies.
The Asia Foundation worked closely with the Ministry on the conflict-of-interest legislation that was pushed forward
last year. I also recall a very important time when you gathered public officials who had not properly disclosed their
income and assets for an open hearing on the floor of Parliament. What challenges did you face?
The history of the Conflict-of-Interest Law started in 2005, when I was on the team responsible
for drafting the Anti-Corruption Law. At that time I was of the view that the Conflict-of-Interest
Law should be part of the Anti-Corruption Law. The then Administration had a different view, and
passed a law based on a different premise, which focused more on the side of the state and did not
distinguish fully between public and personal interests. When I was elected MP in the 2008 election,
we started to draft the Conflict-of-Interest Law based on our vision. When we were drafting this
law, many people were skeptical that a Conflict-of-Interest Law could work, given Mongolia’s small
population and abundance of interconnected family relations. However, the Foundation helped us
and the law was successfully passed by Parliament in 2012.
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The Asia Foundation has been working in Mongolia for 20 years. What is your view of the Foundation’s contributions
as a partner with the Ministry of Justice?
I have always been aware of the Foundation’s work on legal reform, capacity-building within the anticorruption agencies, and public awareness and education. The success and impact of the Books for
Asia program were enormous, and enabled us to gain new knowledge and apply new methodologies.
When Layton Croft was the Country Representative, a group of us discussed how this could be an
opportunity for The Asia Foundation to support new kinds of thinking and new NGOs, so at that
time we started one ourselves, the Open Academy. I hope that the Foundation continues to support
Mongolia in the fight against corruption and conflict of interest.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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Mr. Tsogt Battogoo
Justice, Supreme Court of Mongolia
What made you decide to study law and become a judge?
First of all, thank you for choosing me for this interview. I was first introduced to The Asia Foundation
in 2010, and I have been collaborating with you since then. I particularly appreciate your work on
legal and judicial reform and combating corruption, in which judges and prosecutors play a vital role.
My family background is totally different from my present career. My parents are both musicians.
When I was young, I used to love social sciences; I had no clear ideas about the field of law, but
somehow along the way I made the decision to become a lawyer, and this is now my twelfth year. I
began my career after law school as a secretary in the court, and today I’m quite proud to have served
at all levels of the judicial system.
How do you assess the current state of justice in Mongolia, and what are the key challenges in the implementation of
laws in Mongolia?
When you start something new, you always face challenges. Mongolia is a developing country, and I
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personally think the legal system should be leading or at least keeping pace with social development.
So my colleagues and I agree that the current reforms needed to be done. One reform we quite like
is that, whereas in the past the courts and court hearings were closed to the public, new legislation
now requires the courts to have open proceedings and keep the public informed. All judgments
of the courts, for example, must be posted on a website and be available to the public at any time.
When I worked at the Court of First Instance, the workload was just crazy, unimaginable, so another
reform focuses on the workers in this sector. Of course, some of these positive changes present
new challenges. The courts now have to conduct mediations, for example, with two judges and one
citizen representative at the proceedings. Also, in the past, the courts were organized based on the
administrative units of government. Now they will be organized by districts or regions.
We had an opportunity to bring judges from the Supreme Court, the Court of First Instance, and the prosecutor’s office
to meet with officials in Hong Kong in 2010 to learn more about how corruption cases were adjudicated. Now, after
three years, what would you say you learned from that experience?
Mongolians have a saying that it is better to see once than to listen a thousand times. Even though the
program was short, we were able to see the procedures and processes of the anti-corruption agency of
that country, to see how prosecutors handle corruption cases, and how those cases are adjudicated in court.
One thing I will never forget from that trip was the good relationship between investigators, prosecutors,
and judges. They show great respect for each other and for the rule of law. In Mongolia, one often hears
prosecutors or investigators speaking disrespectfully of judges, but in Hong Kong it was totally different
because they have these professional ethics. The judicial branch was totally respected.
During that visit I learned that when someone is involved in a case of corruption, they are apprehended
for 48 hours. That was an interesting practice. Also, in Hong Kong not all public officials disclose
their assets, but if they are suspected of corruption they must file a disclosure for the last three years.
During that visit we saw a number of court hearings on conflict of interest. It is interesting that, three
years later, we have passed our own law on conflict of interest and started to implement it.
The Asia Foundation aims to improve lives and opportunities across a dynamic and developing Asia. In your view,
what has been The Asia Foundation’s main contribution over the last 20 years?
In my observation, The Asia Foundation works on issues that urgently need solutions, issues that
cannot be postponed, such as corruption, good governance, and transparency. I have read the
corruption benchmarking surveys conducted by Sant Maral Foundation, supported by The Asia
Foundation. I can also say that there are some judges who are more skilled and experienced in
handling corruption cases, and I am really proud to be one of them.
What do you think The Asia Foundation should be focusing on in the future?
Rather than speaking broadly, let me comment on the judicial sector. Our system of laws and justice
is moving towards the Anglo-Saxon system, adopting the best ideas. We have just established a
Bar Association, for example. I hope your Foundation will continue to support the education and
development of lawyers and judges consistent with this new approach.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
33
Perspectives on
Governance &
Transparency
Ms. Burmaa Radnaa
Member of Parliament and Head of the Mongolian Chapter of
Parliamentarians Against Corruption
You have had a long career in a wide variety of fields. I would like to go back to the 1980s and early 1990s, when
you were trained and worked as an engineer. This was not a career that many women chose at the time. Why did you
choose a career in engineering?
When I was a young student, we were ranked according to our performance. I was advised by my
teachers to select electronics. There was a competition for an opportunity to study abroad in the
USSR, Bulgaria, or Poland in the areas of electronics or textiles. At the time, Poland and Bulgaria
were seen as more Western countries, so I chose to study electronics in Bulgaria. Compared to
others I had many choices, because I was first on the list, but my choices were still very limited.
Once I finished my studies in Bulgaria, I was sent to the Institute of Physics and Technology of the
Mongolian Academy of Sciences, where I was assigned a job developing electronic equipment with
some Russian experts.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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How do you look back on the time of the democratic revolution?
During the socialist regime, there was a special supermarket where high level officials and their
families could buy food and other things that ordinary stores didn’t have. We called it the Russian
market because it was built for Russians who worked in Ulaanbaatar. When I was studying in Bulgaria,
I used to drink coffee and eat cheese, but in Ulaanbaatar you could only buy these in the Russian
market. You had to ask some high level official to buy them for you. It made me ask myself why I
was considered a second-class person in my own country.
From 1988 to 1992, I was an engineer at MONEL, the Mongolian Electronics Corporation. Our unit
represented the leading electronic minds in Mongolia, and we produced the first computer and TV
set.I used to work with Mayor Bat-Uul of Ulaanbaatar, and he would come and taste my coffee from
the Russian market. During that time we had many discussions about reform and Russia’s perestroika.
Mr. Bat-Uul told us to be ready in case he would arrested and jailed for posting banners on the street.
Many future democratic leaders were working together in that room at MONEL. At that time
there were only three organizations that had computers. At night we worked secretly to copy public
information materials. After a couple of months, the head of our unit called and asked what important
materials we were printing, but we realized that he supported us, because he never revealed our secret.
In terms of salary and workplace, we had better jobs than most people at the time, but like me, many
left their jobs there in 1992 and went into politics.
As the democratic movement started in Mongolia, you became one of the earliest civil society leaders, and you have
continued for two decades, founding both Women for Social Progress and the Voter Education Center. Why did you
become active in civil society?
After the democratic revolution, the first political parties were established, including the Social
Democratic Party, which eventually became today’s ruling Democratic Party. Out of 51 founding
members, I was the only woman. At that time we really didn’t know much about other parties, because
we had a one-party system, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. But we knew that political
parties had women’s organizations, so the Social Democratic Party started a women’s association, a
youth association, and so on.
At that time I met with The Asia Foundation’s first country representative, Shel Severinghaus, who
was organizing a study tour for three women’s organizations, including the Liberal Women’s Brain
Pool (LEOS) and the National Center Against Violence, to observe the Foundation’s work in Korea,
Nepal, and Thailand. That study tour opened our eyes. In Thailand, for example, I saw women’s
organizations that monitored elected officials and compared their promises to how they actually
voted on things like gender issues. I learned from that tour that non-party political activity is the most
important thing after formal democracy, and I came back with the idea that we too could demand
action on women’s rights in Mongolia. The support we received from The Asia Foundation to pursue
this effort was enormous, and gave us a lot of confidence and a chance to learn by doing.
You are currently the Head of the Mongolian Parliamentarians Against Corruption, MONPAC, which was
established with the assistance of The Asia Foundation’s Strengthening Transparency and Governance Program
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(STAGE) following the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption conference in the Philippines
earlier this year. How do you assess Mongolia’s fight against corruption, and what challenges to good governance do you
see going forward?
When we started our work, especially on open government and election issues, we found corruption
in Mongolia was worst in the financing of political parties and election campaigns. We worked on
many issues like monitoring local budget expenditures. Now we have several laws like the Freedom
of Information Law, the Anti-Corruption Law, and the Anti-Money Laundering Law. But we still
need to push for the effective implementation of these laws. We also need to work on reforms to
implement the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, and we need to regulate political
party finances. More work is needed in the area of legal reform, particularly in the criminal justice
area. We also need more internal training for newly elected parliamentarians and also for emerging
civil society leaders.
What, in your view, has been The Asia Foundation’s main contribution to Mongolia’s development, and what should
be the Foundation’s focus going forward?
Twenty years ago when I requested support, The Asia Foundation helped support the careers of not
only those who were experienced, but also those who were inexperienced. They didn’t just push the
American point of view but provided experiences with Asian countries and other countries.
The current agenda of The Asia Foundation is very important. They have made a significant
contribution to a culture of civic participation in politics. The Foundation was the first civil society
organization to view political activism from the perspective of citizens’ and voters’ rights and the
responsibilities of government and the state.
As a civil society representative and as a state official, I thank The Asia Foundation and its people
who worked with us, such as Sheldon Severinghaus and Kim Hunter. I wish the Foundation a Happy
Anniversary, and I hope we will work together more widely in the future.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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Mr. Sumati Luvsandendev
Director, Sant Maral Foundation
The Sant Maral Foundation started its work in Mongolia as a polling institution in 1994. What were the most
pressing issues for Mongolia in the early 1990s, and what motivated you to start the Sant Maral Foundation?
I think for us intellectuals, the most important issue was how to adapt to a new environment. It is
not that problematic for any country to create a working class. If there is a problem, they can bring a
labor force from a neighboring country - from Korea, China, Russia, whatever. But it is not that easy
to produce an intellectual elite. And this elite is very vulnerable in transition times. What happened
with the Mongolian elite - to a lot of people who were my friends, my relatives - was that they simply
could not cope with the transition. Our state collapsed, state institutions collapsed, and they simply
could not find an occupation. Some of them actually decided to leave the country, and we lost a lot of
highly educated people. Ulaanbaatar dwellers - the most capable intellectuals and professionals - were
leaving the country, settling somewhere in America, in Korea, in Europe, everywhere.
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I was then at a crossroads. I was in business, which I later dropped. I was also in purely intellectual
areas, which I didn’t manage to maintain because there was no support, and without support, most
of these activities simply do not survive in the wild capitalism that we still have here in Mongolia.
Finally, I found something in between by establishing the Sant Maral Foundation, which according to
the NGO law can subsidize its non-profit activity by commercial research operations.
Looking at some of your poll results, what do Mongolians today feel most hopeful about, and what do they feel least
hopeful about? How has this changed over time?
If you look at democratic values and the situation overall in society, I guess that a majority of the
population thinks that democratic values have taken root in Mongolian society. We have freedom of
speech, freedom of movement, freedom in how we spend our leisure time. But overall, I think there
is a general sense that our society is not just. This, I think, is actually the main challenge. Partly, I
think, it is because we are still in transition; we are still fine tuning our institutions, although we have
already been fine tuning them for quite a while. There should really be a time when some of the
essential ones, like the legal system, start operating according to public expectation.
You were an early partner of The Asia Foundation. What are some of your recollections of those early days?
Right at the start of their activities in Mongolia, I visited the Foundation’s office for the first time. It
was at the request of Open Society, which was investigating the activities of civil society organizations
in Mongolia. I had one interview there with Sheldon Severinghaus, the Country Representative at that
time, who was telling me about what kinds of projects the Foundation was implementing in Mongolia,
and at the end of the interview I asked one thing: Sheldon, why is the Foundation so gender-biased?
All your projects are somehow gender-related or implemented by women-led organizations. Except
for your driver, all your project implementers and all your staff are women!
There have been considerable changes in Mongolia over the past twenty years, and your organization has been following
these changes throughout. How do you see Mongolia further developing over the next 20 years, and how do you see the
role of your organization in this development?
I think the most important thing that Mongolians should develop in the next 20 years is their values.
They should then project these values in their social and political lives. This is starting, actually, but
rather chaotically. This is where Mongolian intellectuals should play an important role, but because
of the transition to a market economy, we really lost a lot of people who could have contributed.
What we see right now, actually, is very strong support for democratic values. But again, the world is
facing difficult economic times, and democratic institutions are expensive. Will we actually be able to
maintain our democratic institutions? Because let’s be frank, our economic situation is not that good.
Maybe there will be a challenge in which we are actually swayed to some form of authoritarianism,
perhaps by some ugly form of nationalism in our society. Everything will definitely be very strongly
connected to the way our economy performs.
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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The Asia Foundation is setting up a new program, Asia Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s
Future, which will focus on identifying, training, and developing the next generation of development and policy leaders
in Asia. What advice would you give to the next generation of Mongolian leaders?
I would advise them to plan their political careers, not for today, not for tomorrow, but for five to ten
years ahead. I meet a lot of young politicians. The biggest problem is that they want everything now.
It’s not going to be that way. They should prepare for a long, bumpy road, because Mongolian politics
is very difficult. While there are some situations where things by chance come easily, later a very big
invoice arrives. There is nothing that you get for free; it’s just when you pay for it - now, or later - and
later it may come with inflation.
The Asia Foundation aims to improve lives and opportunities across a dynamic and developing Asia. In your view,
what has been The Asia Foundation’s main contribution towards improving lives and opportunities in Mongolia, and
what areas should The Asia Foundation stay focused on in the years to come?
I believe that, together with other organizations, you really contributed to developing civil society
in Mongolia. Through its support for civil society, the Foundation actually has contributed to all
areas of society - to building a better legal environment, a better political environment. People who
worked at the Foundation have later moved on to other areas, so you also contributed to developing
professionals in this country.
Probably, you should focus on one or two areas going forward. In my opinion, the legal area could be
the most important. This is the area of my biggest frustration. Without a strong judicial system, this
problem that 70 percent of the Mongolian population thinks we do not have a just society will not
go away. This is the biggest danger. An independent judiciary is what we need.
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Ms. Naranjargal Khashkhuu
President and CEO, Globe International Center
Globe International has been at the forefront of the movement towards greater freedom of the press. What is the state
of media freedom in Mongolia today?
The Mongolian media has made great strides, partly because in the early and middle 1990s,
international donors, including The Asia Foundation, were very active here promoting ideas like
public service journalism and freedom of the press. It was a great time for building a free press in
Mongolia. But towards the end of 1990s, politicians started questioning the benefit of a free press.
They realized that the media is a very important and powerful tool to reach out to the public, and they
started to bribe them and later started their own television channels and newspapers. Now ordinary
people can’t really distinguish paid content from real, professional journalism, and therefore they do
not really know what the truth is.
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We worked together closely during the last parliamentary elections to insure that women’s voices were abundant in the
election process. What role does the media play in shaping public opinion in Mongolia?
The role of the media in elections is crucial, because the media informs and educates the voters, both
through journalism and political advertising. So, the media has a dual role. But one of these roles,
educating the voter, has become a very low priority for the media. Instead, most media see elections
as an opportunity to generate income from campaign advertising, and because Mongolian election
law does not really distinguish between professional election coverage and paid advertising, changing
this situation will also require improving the legal framework.
Of course, media outlets have to generate income, but they must generate it in a more professional
way. Mongolia’s government allocates billions of tugriks of public funds to the media, and it’s not
transparent how this money is being spent. We recently requested information from the ministries
on how the so-called “information and advertising” budget is spent, and we discovered the majority
goes to the media.
The good news is that now we can get this type of budget allocation information through the Law
on Information Transparency and Right to Information whereas before, it was impossible. But we
have to keep pushing.
You were at the forefront of the campaign for Mongolia’s Law on Information Transparency and Right to Information,
adopted in June 2011. Please, say a few words about that campaign.
We spent ten years trying to get this law passed, starting with an awareness program in 2001. The
public and Members of Parliament were not clear on the distinction between freedom of information
and media freedom. During the first roundtable at Government House, where we invited the U.S.
Ambassador to talk about freedom of information with 17 members of Parliament, every discussion
turned into one about journalism and ethics rather than the concept of freedom of information. We
had to change our tactics; we could not give up, because we had many newly elected MPs and we had
to start educating them.
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Finally, in 2011, the Law on Information Transparency and Right to Information was passed. But the
government is not promoting the law, and even public officials are unaware of it. We felt we couldn’t
wait another ten years to get the Law implemented, so we sent a development proposal to the UN
Democracy Fund, which was approved. Now we are working to raise awareness of the Law in 20
soums and eight aimags.
As one of the early grantees of The Asia Foundation, what are some of your recollections of working with us?
My personal relationship with The Asia Foundation started when I was working at Mongolian TV
and served as the Vice President of the Mongolian Free Democratic Journalists Association, which
was a member of the International Organization of Journalists. At Globe International, our very first
project together was called Stairwell Democracy, which worked with apartment owners’ associations
from 2003 to 2004 to inform citizens of their rights and to educate them on existing laws and rules
of construction, which was booming at that time.
Globe International has been an important partner in our new transparency initiative, the Strenghtening Transparency
and Governance in Mongolia (STAGE) program. What role does Globe International play in that initiative?
Traditionally, we run media campaigns to raise awareness about initiatives, but for this project we
wanted to create more innovative ways to raise public awareness, particularly among the youth. We
produced lively audio and videos, and targeted the online media, which is more appropriate for
the young audience. Globe International will continue its work raising public awareness, particularly
through the arts because that is a great tool to change people’s thinking.
As someone on the forefront of fighting corruption in Mongolia, how do you assess the state of corruption in Mongolia
today?
People think that corruption is a new phenomenon in Mongolia, but it is actually rooted in Manchurian
rule. Sometimes it seems like it’s too late to do anything about corruption - that nobody is fighting.
Personally, I think change starts with the family, with the children. Sometimes, though, especially
with conflict of interest issues, it is difficult to change the old ways of doing things, especially in
Mongolia’s small, close-knit communities.
But people say that if you say something 100 times it becomes true; that’s why we have to keep teaching,
and after some time, their minds will change. If we don’t continue this fight, we will lose our values.
What have been The Asia Foundation’s main contributions to improving lives and expanding opportunities in
Mongolia, and how do you see the Foundation’s role over the next 20 years?
The Asia Foundation was one of the first NGOs to come to Mongolia, and it focused from the
beginning on empowering leaders. The Foundation supported many study trips for these leaders, and
there are few people among our civil society leaders who haven’t received some assistance from The
Asia Foundation. The Foundation played a big role in bringing new ideas to Mongolia and supporting
the transition to democracy and human rights, which it continues to do today. I think the Foundation
will continue to make a difference, because it fulfills a need of Mongolian society.
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Mr. Badruun Gardi
Executive Director, Zorig Foundation
The Zorig Foundation was founded in 1998 in memory of the late Zorig Sanjaasuren, a Mongolian pro-democracy
politician and a leader of the democratic revolution. What do you see as Mr. Zorig’s main legacy to Mongolia?
The more I think about Zorig and his legacy, the more I realize how important a figure he was. He
started off as a professor at the National University of Mongolia, where he taught communist theory.
That’s fascinating, since he became a father figure of the democratic revolution! He played a major
role in making the revolution not only successful but also peaceful. There was a moment during the
revolution, on Sukhbaatar Square, when everyone was starting to get agitated and aggressive. At that
moment, Zorig’s voice could be heard asking people to sit down, to stay calm. Today we say that not
a single window was broken during this whole transition from 70 years of communism to democracy.
Zorig advocated for freedom and democracy. He also took strong stands on good governance,
transparency, and accountability. The Zorig Foundation is here to remind people how important
these values are, not just for that one person but for the whole country.
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What are the Zorig Foundation’s key priority areas?
Since our establishment 15 years ago, we have focused on three main areas: youth and education,
good governance, and community development. Having strong democratic values, understanding
what is happening in our society, and making informed decisions are very important, and we believe
that educating the younger generation is key. Good governance has always been a strong suit of ours,
and we are now working closely with The Asia Foundation to fight corruption, including a current
project to raise awareness about conflict of interest.
The third area, community development, mainly consists of our work in the ger districts, where we
mainly help migrants who have just moved from the countryside to the city. The sedentary lifestyle
is new for Mongolians; we’ve only lived in cities for at most three generations. Now Ulaanbaatar is
growing so rapidly it’s creating both infrastructural problems and social problems. Our goal is to
identify needs and help these people as much as possible.
We are currently in the process of establishing a policy research institute, because decision-makers
need high quality research and empirical data to make informed decisions. The decisions we make
today will affect Mongolians for many years to come. It’s important to make sure that we take the
right steps and the right actions.
The Zorig Foundation administers various scholarship programs, including the Shirin Pandju Merali Scholarship
Program on behalf of The Asia Foundation. What is the importance of these programs?
We’ve been giving scholarships for the past 12 years. Most of our scholarships have been for domestic
universities, for students who are high academic achievers, socially active, but lack the financial means
to pursue their studies. When we started in 2001, there weren’t really organizations doing this kind of
work, and we were really able to identify that gap and start filling it. We started the Merali scholarships
about four years ago, so the first cohort is entering senior year. Some of our scholarship recipients
participate in community development projects, which give them the opportunity to work in teams
and tackle real-world problems. With the Merali program, we had weekly English language classes.
Our goal is to give them life skills, so that after they graduate, they can find employment that will
fulfill them both financially and intellectually.
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The Zorig Foundation is also part of PTI, the Partnership on Transparency Initiative, a group of NGOs promoting
transparency and good governance in Mongolia with support from The Asia Foundation. What is the state of
governance in Mongolia, and what is the Zorig Foundation doing as part of the Partnership?
Governance in Mongolia is obviously a work in progress. There have been attempts to get people to
learn more about good governance, but I think a lot of it has been done in the traditional dry way,
like lectures. We try to use a lot of new and innovative approaches. I think that our biggest strength
is our work with youth. A lot of our staff members are themselves quite young. They don’t have a
lot of work experience, so there’s a lot of learning taking place, but at the same time we have a lot
of energetic, passionate people who are willing to learn and incorporate new ways of doing things.
Lately, we’ve been trying to attract people who aren’t from the traditional NGO world. We have staff
who come from the private sector, who worked for some of the large Mongolian companies and
decided to join our Foundation. They see things from a different perspective. They can do things that
are really innovative. For example, in just the past year we have started to understand how important
Facebook and social media can be. We’ve paid quite a bit of attention to our Facebook page, and we
have nearly 20,000 likes.
You participated in the Youth Forum during the recent Seventh Ministerial Conference of the Community of
Democracies. Are Mongolian youth engaged with public affairs?
The youth are a little resigned and uninvolved, because they think the problems are so big that they
can’t make a difference. The Zorig Foundation has been working to create an enabling environment for
youth under both the Young Leadership Program and the Environmental Fellowship Program. Under
these programs, we don’t just focus on leadership training, but we also try to offer other opportunities
such as weekly meetings with experts, field trips, and a chance to participate in conferences. For
many alumni, the program, which is currently in its eleventh year, offers an opportunity to develop
professionally and create lasting relationships that prepare them for very important positions in both
the public and private sectors. I often meet people in important meetings who turn out to be alumni
of the program.
The Asia Foundation aims to improve lives and increase opportunities across a dynamic and developing Asia. In your
view, what has been The Asia Foundation’s main contribution towards improving lives and opportunities in Mongolia,
and what role can the Foundation play going forward?
The Asia Foundation has been here since the beginning, which has been an enormous factor in
its ability to contribute to Mongolia’s development. It’s important that we get new people, new
organizations, companies, governments, as many people as possible interested in the success of
Mongolia. If you believe in democracy, you should be rooting for Mongolia. We are surrounded by
two of the largest non-democratic countries, and we are traditionally considered to lack the underlying
factors for a successful democracy. So, we are an anomaly for a lot of people. If we can do a better
job of advertising Mongolia to the outside world, I feel that I will have done the job that I set out to
do, and we will have had a positive impact on the development of Mongolia.
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Perspectives on
Urban Governance
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Mr. Bat-Uul Erdene
Capital City Governor and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar
You have a long and distinguished career in politics, and in 2009 you were awarded the title of Hero of Mongolia as
one of the leaders of the democratic revolution. In what ways has Mongolia changed since that time?
The most important achievement of the last twenty years is that our elections, by which the people of
Mongolia directly elect their own government, have become routine and customary. So, for example,
we have had six presidential elections, as well as parliamentary elections and local elections.
You yourself have been elected to Parliament three times, yet during the last parliamentary election in 2012 you decided
to run not for Parliament but for Mayor of Ulaanbaatar. Why did you make this decision?
I began to worry about poor governance in local communities, and I began to understand that the
most important starting point to improve and protect democracy is governance at the local level. For
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example, in Ulaanbaatar there has been a growing influence of powerful, elite groups who pursue
their own personal and private interests. They kind of forgot to represent the people of the local
communities. In order to improve that situation, I decided to run for mayor.
In the year that you’ve been mayor, we have seen some dramatic changes in Ulaanbaatar—improved leadership,
improved infrastructure, and improved transparency. What are some of the achievements of your first year as mayor
of Ulaanbaatar, and what challenges do you see going forward?
The most worrying thing has been this poor governance during the last decade. The purpose of a
local government is to serve the people of the local communities—in a transparent manner, without
excessive bureaucracy, like the service provided by commercial banks and shops. Nowadays, citizens
are changing. They truly believe that the Ulaanbaatar City government is here to serve the public.
People are now actively participating in government functions related to construction permits, land
use, budget issues. For example, we are currently planning to make the construction permit process
open to the public. We have a construction permit technical committee that meets on a regular basis,
and we are planning to broadcast these meetings live to the public in order to increase transparency
and openness. We are making similar plans regarding land use decisions.
During your election campaign, you focused a great deal on revitalizing ger areas, and The Asia Foundation has
supported the city municipality with our Urban Services in Ger Districts program. What is your vision for revitalizing
ger areas, and how can The Asia Foundation support the improvement of ger area services?
First of all, I would like to express my thanks to The Asia Foundation for helping us and providing us
with this community mapping, which will be an important basis for our other planning activities. The
Asia Foundation has extensive experience in improving local government services. You were the first
to understand that the issues of Ulaanbaatar could not be resolved without solving the problems in
the ger districts. The Asia Foundation is helping to build the capacity of newly established ger district
units, and this is an important job. So, I am very happy that The Asia Foundation first identified these
issues, even before we did, and began working to improve these things.
We are also working with the Ulaanbaatar City municipality to develop anti-corruption action plans. What is your
view of corruption in Mongolia now, and what are your key priorities for reducing or eliminating corruption?
In recent years, under the leadership of President Elbegdorj, anti-corruption activity has really
improved. Parliamentary anti-corruption legislation has improved a number of laws. In terms of
preventing corruption in Ulaanbaatar, the most important step is to involve citizens in decisionmaking. For example, budget planning and implementation, or granting a permit to build a building
or sell alcohol in a local community, now requires citizen participation. At the same time, we will have
transparency with the objective of keeping the public informed. In the past, for example, heating
pipelines and sources of electricity were concealed from the public, and there was corruption in
relation to that. We must improve government services to match the best shops in Ulaanbaatar so
that bad service won’t make the public start giving bribes.
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In our early days in Mongolia, The Asia Foundation promoted young leaders. The Foundation is now embarking on a
new leadership program for young leaders in 18 country offices across Asia. What advice would offer to a new generation
of young Mongolian leaders?
It is a reality that in any government there will be some selfish people who take bribes. In most
foreign countries they have a few corrupt people, but they have learned to hold them responsible for
their actions. In Mongolia, however, corruption is so common that it has become a kind of social
norm. In the end, it makes the state turn against the interests of the public. The state becomes the
enemy of its own people. It ruins the main principles of democracy. So, I would advise the young
generation that if they choose a political career, they must use it to serve the public. Because a
politician is like a monk: monks don’t serve their own interest; they serve the people and think about
their welfare. Politicians, like monks, must think not only of themselves but also about the public
good. They should understand that you will be successful and live better when other people around
you live better.
What do you believe are the greatest challenges facing Mongolia over the next twenty years, and what role might The
Asia Foundation play in meeting those challenges?
I would like you to focus on helping local governments become very efficient, to become like the best
shops and supermarkets in the community, to provide the best service to the public using the best
skills and methodologies. For example, I would like to cooperate with the Foundation in organizing
some kind of competitive ranking of local government agencies to determine which have best served
their communities. Let’s identify the best-administered agencies and the worst, and make it public.
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Perspectives on
Environment
Ms. Oyun SanjaAsuren
Minister of Environment and GREEN DEVELOPMENT AND
Member of Parliament
Mongolia is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, rich in natural resources. As minister of the environment,
what do you see as the challenges and opportunities in managing these great resources?
For hundreds if not thousands of years, Mongolians, who lived as nomadic herders, lived in harmony
with nature, and because they were directly dependent on this nature to survive they learned how to
protect it, and traditionally to worship nature as well. We have a lot of good traditions that can be
used for environmentally friendly development, but the last decades have produced a lot of pollution
and environmental degradation. We’re lucky because we are a small population, just under three
million, with a large area per capita - the least dense country in the world. We’re lucky there are still
large areas that are relatively pristine, but many are subject to the negative impacts of climate change.
Pollution and environmental degradation are mostly seen in the cities, especially in the capital. Half of
Ulaanbaatar citizens live in ger districts, where there is no running water and no sewage. Meanwhile,
outside Ulaanbaatar there are a large number of small-scale mining sites left degraded, and that’s a
legacy of those last 20 years.
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Since 1990, when we transitioned to democracy and a market economy, there have been many
challenges. The first priority was to create jobs and incomes, and the environment was overlooked.
In the past six or seven years, when the economy has been growing almost continuously, the
government decided that we had to turn our economic growth into something more sustainable and
environmentally friendly.
On the public side, we’ve seen huge support for more environmentally friendly development, because
the nomadic herders are pretty much dependent on nature and when they see a lot of land degraded
by mining operations there is less and less support for local mining. We also have to realize that
mining is one of our main engines of economic growth and development, whether we like it or not,
so rather than trying to avoid mining we have to make mining more responsible. 15 years ago, when
commodity prices were low and we were desperate to create jobs, we couldn’t afford this, but now
we can afford to demand higher standards. And if your projects aren’t environmentally friendly, we
can actually refuse them. Legislation was introduced a few years ago that will gradually ban mining in
watershed and forest areas, and areas protected by national parks have been gradually increased. We
pledged in the early 1990s that 30 percent of our territory would be turned into protected areas, and
now about 17 percent is protected. On the one hand, this is good news; on the other, we have to work
on better management of those protected areas.
What are the government’s plans to promote responsible mining and rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation of mining areas is still a major issue, and until 2008 Mongolia didn’t have very good
rehabilitation standards. In 2008, new rehabilitation standards were introduced, and now we’re
working very hard on introducing new mine-closure and discharge standards.
We now have a map of most of the degraded areas that are in need of rehabilitation, which totals
about 600 sites. We also introduced an environmental audit that mining companies must go through,
and private environmental auditing companies will be helping those mining companies to implement
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and monitor their environmental action plans. The Environmental Impact Assessment Report is
usually submitted to the Ministry, but with just a few staff looking after 3,000 exploration and 1,000
mining licenses, oversight has been poor. So this middle structure of private environmental audit
companies will help both mining companies and the government to implement the plan.
You were part of the original group invited to participate in The Asia Foundation’s conference, America’s Role in
Asia. What are your recollections as an early Asia Foundation grantee?
In 1999, I was invited along with Mr. Tsagaan to participate in a workshop in Japan on America’s Role
in Asia. I had just entered politics, so I found it very interesting and enticing. Mongolia was such an
isolated country until 1990, and when the world opened to us there was so much for Mongolians to
learn.
I also remember an early conference organized by The Asia Foundation in 2002 about economic
development and solutions for growth, which featured many excellent speakers. Just preparing and
researching for that workshop enlightened me about Mongolia’s development path. I also remember
fondly a visit to the Foundation’s San Francisco headquarters in 2003 as an Eisenhower Fellow.
The Asia Foundation is launching a new initiative to identify young Mongolian leaders. What aspects should we
consider when moving forward with this new program?
Preparing the new generation of leaders is very important. I benefited from the Eisenhower
Fellowship and the Global Leaders of Tomorrow program, which give such a great opportunity to
learn new ways of thinking. Our Zorig Foundation has been running a leadership program for about
ten years, and we also started a young environmental leadership program that is now in its third year.
Later this year we are going to be doing a program for rural youth in 21 aimags. Young people very
much appreciate and benefit from these kinds of programs.
As a long-standing Member of Parliament, you’ve been at the forefront of the fight against corruption. What progress
has been made?
Good governance and fighting corruption were not priorities when I entered Parliament in 1998. A
draft anti-corruption bill was submitted at the end of 1999, and I was one of the co-signers, but because
there was no political will, it sat in the Parliament until 2004. After a new coalition government was
created, anti-corruption legislation was passed in 2006 and an agency was established in 2007. The
provision of the Law on Anti-Corruption relating to income declarations by high-level officials came
into effect in 2007, the right to information law was passed a few years ago, and conflict of interest
legislation was passed last year. Legally we have progressed quite a bit since around 2005 - 2006,
which is good news, but fighting corruption is very difficult, and success doesn’t come overnight.
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Ms. Enkhtuya Oidov
Mongolia COUNTRY Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
You are a prominent member of the democratic movement and a founding member of the Mongolian Party for National
Progress, Mongolia’s first political party to advocate free-market reform and the core of today’s Democratic Party. What
motivated you to become engaged in the movement, and what are your recollections of that time?
It was, I think, events in Eastern Europe and glasnost in Russia that set the stage. At that time I didn’t
think thoroughly, I just followed my heart. When there was a demonstration on the street, I joined
without hesitation, which shows that we were all prepared and waiting. Many people who had studied
abroad were leading this movement. Many students who studied with me in Germany or in other
Eastern European countries or Russia were on the street, people who had access to information
about what was happening all over the world. Also, we just couldn’t accept the old system anymore.
In 1996, you were one of only eight women elected to Parliament, where you served from 1996 to 2000. How was it
to be a woman MP at that time, and what do you think of the current situation of women’s participation in politics
in Mongolia?
The Parliament of 1996 to 2000 was a very difficult one. It was the first time the Democratic Party
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won the Parliamentary elections and could have its own cabinet. It was the first-ever power shift
after the fall of the communist regime in 1990, but the Communist Party, the former ruling party,
although it was now the opposition, it was also very strong. The balance of power in Parliament
caused political instability - there were four resignations of government - and women MPs could not
have an independent voice because if women did not comply with their party’s rule it would make
the Democratic Party vulnerable. The most important priority was to make this new Democratic
government work. Now I see women parliamentarians playing a much more independent role.
I think women made parliament more open, more transparent. We created the first women’s caucus
and the first women’s leadership training for government service. At the time, nobody noticed. It
was incorporated into the government’s agenda that women, especially mid-level women, should be
trained for the next level. Previously citizens couldn’t access the House of Parliament, so we decided
that Members of Parliament should have assistants who came from their constituencies, bringing that
link to constituents. We also created an internship program, initiated by the women’s caucus. All these
small things that nobody noticed at the time added up to bigger reform, bigger change.
You are the founder of the Liberal Women’s Brain Pool (LEOS), the first civil society organization in Mongolia,
which has since become the country’s leading democracy and civil rights advocacy group and the largest women’s NGO.
What made you decide to start LEOS? What, in your view, has been LEOS’s greatest achievement?
Again, early in 1990, when we were demonstrating on the street, there were many women, but their
role was not recognized. In the past there had been a women’s federation that claimed all women were
its members, and we were invited to a conference to attempt to reform this organization. But because
they were a top-down organization created by the party, it was very difficult for them to change
their mind. We therefore decided to create an independent, non-partisan organization. We began to
research what kind of organization we could establish, and that’s how we learned about civil society
organizations and how they are organized, modeling our bylaws after international organizations. We
were well established from the beginning with very good bylaws.
We were focused on women in politics and bringing more women into politics. We did the first voter
education, the first education on civil society and NGOs, and we traveled a lot, reached out to all
provinces and almost all soums, so that’s how we grew quickly.
Our greatest achievement is that we have produced the largest number of women leaders of any
women’s group or any civil society organization. Maybe not at the highest level, but at mid-level a
large number of women are members of LEOS. Of eight women elected in 1996, five were board
members of LEOS, and we created a women’s coalition to sign agreements with all the major political
parties that they would promote women candidates.
On the largest scale, LEOS’s later work focused not just on women in politics but also on women in
economics, women’s empowerment, and poverty reduction - for example, helping women through
the establishment of the first non-banking financial institution, which grew out of a successful microcredit pilot project funded by UNDP. I led the XacBank merger working group when it became an
independent commercial bank.
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In 1994, you were one of the earliest grantees of The Asia Foundation. What are your reflections on that time as a
grantee and how has Mongolia changed since then?
The Asia Foundation was the first international non-profit supporting civil society and the new
women’s movement in Mongolia. Before becoming the Foundation’s grantee and going to the U.S., I
was in Manila as part of the Foundation’s Women in Politics program. It was our first meeting with
international women’s groups, and it changed our perspective totally. It really empowered Mongolian
women. By bringing us to other countries, allowing us to be in touch with other women to exchange
ideas, information, and experience, The Asia Foundation was critical for the Mongolian women’s
movement.
Currently you are the Mongolia Country Program Director for the Nature Conservancy. What made you decide to
become active in the environmental movement?
The environment has become the issue in Mongolia right now, due to our fast economic growth and
the engine of this growth, which is mining. Unregulated mining has had a very negative impact on
the environment. Because of the nomadic lifestyle, Mongolians are known for conservation ethics.
They live in balance with nature; that’s their legacy. In the past, we would always say that you can
never mobilize nomads because they are such independent spirits, but when their pasture land was
gone and their water sources dried up, these herders mobilized themselves and came on their horses
to Sukhbaatar Square to conduct a hunger strike, and forced Parliament to pass a law that prohibited
mining in headwaters and forested areas.
The Nature Conservancy decided to open an office in Mongolia after doing a global scientific
assessment based on their goal of saving at least ten percent of each major habitat type. The
assessment discovered that temperate grassland was the least protected major habitat type in the
world, and when they looked at where they could save a large landscape of grassland, Mongolia
unexpectedly popped up. Our focus is the Eastern Steppe - that’s one billion acres of intact grassland
- and in the middle is the 69-million-acre Tosonkhulstai Nature Reserve. It is our anchor site, and we
are trying to establish an effective management model together with local stakeholders.
In your view, what has been The Asia Foundation’s main contribution towards improving lives and opportunities in
Mongolia, and what role do you think The Asia Foundation can play in the next 20 years?
Empowerment of people, and building capacity of non-profit organizations: this was the best thing
you ever did for this country. I hope you will continue this. Although Mongolia has a lot of strong
local NGOs, I think The Asia Foundation still has a very important role to play.
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Perspectives on
Women’s
Empowerment
Ms. Sukhjargalmaa Dugersuren
Chief Operating Officer, the Foundation for the
Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
You have been at the forefront of the women’s movement in Mongolia. How do you describe the early days of the
women’s movement?
Even in communist times, the party leadership used to have a saying - if there is an issue that can’t
be solved, give it to a women’s organization, and in no time it will be resolved. I think it’s a very true
observation that women’s organizations, even at the very early stages, were really the most active, the
most outspoken, and the most truthful to the ideas of change and democracy and openness.
For example, I personally am very proud of the National Center Against Violence shelter. It is a
good organization that delivers really good services. It was set up with the help of AusAID by three
women’s organizations - I was president of one - and no matter how young they were, they were very
capable, very clear about the priorities and pressing issues, and they just went into action with what
they were trying to set up. So I would say women’s organizations are the most organized and the most
conscientious and most aware part of civil society.
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What do you think of the current gender situation in Mongolia? What are the main challenges?
Well, maybe number one would be that Mongolia is a machosociety, particularly when it comes to
perceptions of women’s role in politics and in other decision-making positions. Women are the best
and most trusted workers. But when it comes to making a woman the boss, who wants to have a
woman boss? So women need to establish themselves as a credible political force. This means dealing
with hard issues. Such as the stereotyped mentality of the male-dominated polity and the electorate.
Support for women-candidates from training to finance. Equality in the family so that a woman has
more time. And so on…
Secondly, as with all civil society organizations, there’s the issue of institutional strengthening and
growth. Mostly that’s about financing, which is very much linked with acceptance, with how society
at large sees the usefulness of civil society organizations. Mongols are survivors; that’s how I try to
explain it. Because there are very few of us and we live far apart, we are individualistic by nature. I
see the individualism of the U.S. or the West as sort of artificial - I don’t want to be like the Joneses
is the philosophy there. But here we are natural-born individualists, and we think we know it all and
can do everything ourselves. This kind of mentality doesn’t really help when civil society is all about
teamwork and cooperation and building a united front on important issues. This even affects the
women’s movement a little bit, but I would say we are more capable of cooperating.
As one of the early grantees of The Asia Foundation, I understand you went to the U.S. to do a masters course…?
It wasn’t a credit course. It wasn’t a masters, but I had the very big title of Visiting Researcher at the
Hubert Humphrey Center for Social Affairs at the University of Minnesota. 1994. It was a very good
program. They placed me there, I think, because they thought that cold places are best for a Mongol.
But it was a very good school, and I had a very good program, and thanks to that, I think, I’m still
regarded as one of the experts on civil society. I took part in a big NGO observation program in the
U.S., and I think nobody here knows more about the 501c3 clause than I do. So, that was very helpful.
And I would say, with all honesty and from the bottom of my heart, that The Asia Foundation was
instrumental, was THE one that helped to create civil society in Mongolia, and helped to train the
people who went into politics.
Apart from gender and women’s rights, you have worked for a wide variety of organizations in Mongolia on various
other topics including the topic of civil society. Are there specific things that you envision, ten years from now, for the
development of civil society, and what will be needed to reach that next plateau?
It’s like eggs and hens - which comes first? If there isn’t an educated and informed citizenry, there
won’t be a lot of good government, right? But if the economic policy of a badly run government
leaves a very large part of your population poor, how will they become educated and informed
citizens? Breaking that cycle was why I first ran for elected office in 2012. We were visiting these
peripheral places - you know, peri-urban - and then went to the aimags, and you really wanted to cry.
Most people were drunk, and men, women, the young, the old, all were very poor. Their only thought
was how to get income and how to survive.
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Civil society itself is undermined when a person’s priority is mere survival. Who thinks about human
rights? Who thinks about gender equality, or whether this government is right or wrong? So we still
have a long way to go, and I think that The Asia Foundation’s approach of finding really good people
and really training them, rearing them, is still very relevant. We need economic leaders for sustainable
growth. We need political leaders -at all levels- for good governance and equity. We need strong civil
society organizations as leaders and as service providers.
Currently, you are the Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition in
Mongolia. Can you tell us more about their goals and activities in Mongolia?
Well, I grew up under the old system that really was very lukewarm about religion. But you can’t deny
its existence, right? Especially, its importance in these times when all want to have it all. What I have
been personally concerned with is that our own Buddhist organizations have been very inactive in the
social field, so when people from this organization approached me, I was impressed. We run a soup
kitchen, we have a small medical unit that serves the homeless, and we also have a children’s program.
So it’s the service side that attracted me. But I do not pretend to be a dharma person. Maybe I won’t
have enough years to learn it all, but I still think that Buddhism is a very worthwhile philosophy.
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Ms. Dolgor Badraa
Head, Mongolian Women Lawyers’ Association
You have been at the forefront of the women’s movement in Mongolia. How would you describe the movement, and how
has it evolved over time?
The concept of women’s rights was at quite an advanced level much earlier than the start of the
women’s movement. In 1924, Mongolia granted women the equal right to vote and to be elected.
I think that 1992 marked a new form of women’s movement in Mongolia, when most women’s
organizations were just being set up, including the Mongolian Women Lawyers’ Association (MWLA),
but also others like the Liberal Women’s Brain Pool (LEOS). We became a role model, and since then
there have been many other women’s organizations that have been established.
Can you talk about the work of MWLA today, and tell us a little about your own path?
The MWLA has two purposes: one is to serve society, and the other is to serve our members. Training
is one of our biggest priorities. We provide training for our women lawyer members on newly adopted
laws, and training to citizens on the actual laws themselves.
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My personal history is an example of the value of training women. I was born to a family of herders.
I was educated and graduated from The School of Law of National University of Mongolia. I was
a successful graduate with good marks, and there was some discussion at that time whether I would
stay at my school as a lecturer. I graduated in June 1981, and in March the following year there was
a letter from the court of the Umnugovi aimag saying that they wanted to select me as a judge of
the court of Dalanzadgad soum and a representative of Umnugovi aimag. At that time in the 1980s,
judges were elected, so this was equivalent to being elected as a Member of Parliament. When I went
to Dalanzadgad soum in July, the judge who was working before me had been transferred, and they
had been two or three months without a judge, so there were piles of cases. The first case I worked
on was an assault case, and I had to judge a young man who was the same age as I was.
In 1992, we had a new constitution, which said that in order to become a judge at the Supreme
Court you must be over 35 and have 10 years of experience in the field. I did fulfill the experience
requirement, but I was below the age limit, so I had to resign from the Supreme Court then, and I
became an advisor to Parliament. Since 1993, I have worked on all the new laws in Mongolia after the
new constitution, and it is because of this that I entered politics and became a Member of Parliament
in 2000. After that, I served as advisor to three prime ministers, and during the presidency of former
President Enkhbayar I was the first woman Head of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The Asia Foundation is starting a new program called Asia Development Fellows, which focuses on emerging Asian
leaders. What advice would you give to the next generation of Mongolian leaders?
In Mongolia, many women have become leaders in our society by working at women’s NGOs. It’s
very important for a woman leader to go through this development within civil society; this is the best
way to emerge as a woman leader. Civil society allows a great deal of self-development, and in a sense,
a leader is born from citizens when he or she works in civil society. This is where you are established;
this is where you become a citizen. Later on, if that person works for a state organization or becomes
a politician, the civil society experience will have made her psychologically more committed to serving
the public. This approach is particularly important for Mongolia’s next leaders, as there is now a
commitment to have clean politics that serve the public interest.
What are your recollections as one of our earliest grantees, and what contribution has The Asia Foundation made in
improving lives and expanding opportunities in Mongolia?
Last year, when the MWLA celebrated its twentieth anniversary, we analyzed our partnerships, and we
concluded that international cooperation was one of the most important aspects of our development.
The Asia Foundation assisted us by exposing us to international best practices and giving us the
chance to gain international experiences, particularly in supporting us in our battle for the enactment
of a domestic violence law.
After the MWLA was established, we talked about what kind of new laws were needed in Mongolia.
We all agreed that a law combating domestic violence was important, and we started work on a
draft in 1994. When we started, we needed more knowledge of international practices and other
countries’ experiences and laws. We requested assistance from The Asia Foundation, and in 1995
the Foundation sent six representatives from MWLA to the U.S. to study their experiences with anti-
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domestic violence laws. When we wrote our first draft, we consulted with other governments and
women’s organizations, as well as with international organizations including The Asia Foundation.
Although we worked very hard, the Parliament did not accept our draft. When I became a Member
of Parliament in 2000 along with nine other elected women MPs, we established a women’s caucus,
which I headed. We identified the domestic violence law as our first priority. Right before the 2004
elections, after ten years of intensive work, we were finally able to get this law passed by Parliament.
64
Perspectives on
Culture, Arts &
Education
Ms. Oyungerel Tsedevdamba
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and
Member of Parliament
You have been an active advocate of democracy and justice and have served on various boards and committees of major
pro-democracy political associations and public organizations. Why did you join the pro-democracy movement, and what
are your recollections of Mongolia’s earliest years as a democracy?
I was in Khuvsgul, which was the first province to rise against the communist regime in April 1990.
We had a ten-day hunger strike in Khuvsgul, which woke up the entire province, and my father and
my son and I visited the hunger strikers every day for all ten days. So that April and May 1990 was
my big awakening.
It took a year and a half before I joined the party, because I didn’t know which party to join as there
were so many new parties. In 1991 or early 1992, a new party was established called the Renaissance
party, which was a breakaway party from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP). My
mother had been a leader of the MPRP when she was alive, and the Renaissance party leaders were
my mom’s friends, so I joined the Renaissance party.
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Just a year after it was established, the Renaissance party joined the National Democratic Party,
because it was a very small party. In Khuvsgul aimag, for example, they couldn’t find a leader, so I was
chosen as the first leader of the Renaissance party, and in April 1992 I met my first-ever American.
In cartoons during the communist period, an American was always this old guy with a big nose and
hat and grey hair who’s ready to bomb any communist country. So exactly that cartoon-image guy
came to Khuvsgul to meet all the local leaders. It was Sheldon Severinghaus of The Asia Foundation.
I clearly remember looking at him and thinking, “It’s really true, Americans really look like this.” Of
course it turned out Sheldon Severinghaus was a very nice guy and didn’t have any nuclear bombs.
At our first meeting, all the department chiefs sitting around the table were men. I was the only
woman, sitting on the sofa next to the door. Then Sheldon Severinghaus says, “Hey, you have only
one woman, she needs to come a little closer.” So not only wasn’t he threatening us with nuclear
bombs, he was bringing a woman to the table.
Since 1996 you have worked closely with President Elbegdorj, from when he was an MP to when he was prime minister.
What has been your personal highlight of working together with President Elbegdorj?
I was hired as his assistant when the democratic forces won the election for the first time in 1996.
When Elbegdorj became Prime Minister in 1998, I was his assistant, and when he was Prime Minister
the second time, I was his advisor. Then when he became president, he created a new cabinet post
called Human Rights and Public Participation Policy Advisor. Never before had a president created
a full time position for human rights, so this was a very happy highlight for me, and I participated in
establishing the Citizens’ Hall, the moratorium on the death penalty, and many other things.
In establishing the Citizens’ Hall, of course, I have to mention The Asia Foundation. Because the
government had never held public hearings, we wanted to show how much it was going to cost
and how we were going to do it. I approached The Asia Foundation, which gave chairs - the most
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important furniture in that room, because a public hearing is all about chairs, you know. As soon
as we had 60 chairs and a podium, we were ready to invite people for public hearings. Now people
everywhere organize public hearings.
You currently serve as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. What is your long-term vision for Mongolia in
the areas of culture, sports, and tourism? What are the current key priorities of your ministry?
In the tourism sector, our key priorities are improvements to infrastructure and the legal environment.
One of our biggest infrastructure problems is the sewage system, because without proper sewage
systems and water systems, we end up polluting the most beautiful sites of Mongolia. We really need
engineering, technical assistance, and large-scale solutions.
Another problem for tourism is the legal environment. Right now, nobody abroad can buy a domestic
ticket in Mongolia. You have to have a Mongolian buy your ticket or book your hotel; you can’t do it
online. Train tickets are impossible to buy anywhere. It has to be 6:00 of that day to buy the ticket.
One of my priorities is opening up the industry for the world market, which I’m actually putting into
a law.
For sports and culture, it’s so many other things. In culture especially, we have consistently supported,
first, protecting our national heritage, and second, supporting artists and the creation process.
Mongolia right now is burning with creativity. There is also a lot of enthusiasm for learning about the
old heritage. My big concern now is how to make the market for cultural works bigger, not only by
sponsoring more events but also by supporting Mongolian culture abroad.
You are an accomplished writer. What attracts you to writing, and what are your ambitions as a writer for the future?
Very good question, thank you. I never thought that I would write books. Actually, the reason I wrote
my first book, about my studies in America, was to get my name recognized as a politician. But when
it immediately became a record bestseller, I started thinking, “Oh my God, this is a completely new,
beautiful career.”
My biggest success is my novel that I co-wrote with my husband, Green Eyed Lama. It’s about the
1930s political purges in Mongolia, Mongolia’s holocaust. This book is still a leading bestseller after
six years, and we are ready to publish it on the international market in a few months. So, I think my
next job will not be minister or Member of Parliament, but writer. Books two and three are boiling
in my head, but I never have time to write them down.
The Asia Foundation aims to improve lives and opportunities across a dynamic and developing Asia. In your view,
what has been The Asia Foundation’s main contribution towards improving lives and opportunities in Mongolia?
The Asia Foundation was one of the first organizations to open the eyes of our politicians, and the
good thing is that it works with all parties and all politicians. The Asia Foundation also supported
citizens and civil society to be watchdogs for good development, for the environment, for human
rights, and especially for anti-corruption. All these things in the longer term will widen citizens’
opportunities in myriad different ways that we don’t even know.
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Ms. Ariunaa Tserenpil
Executive Director, Arts Council of Mongolia
Mongolia boasts a long history and a rich culture. What makes Mongolia’s culture unique in the region? What makes
Mongolia stand out?
Mongolia is a country with a unique history and a unique culture, the nomadic culture. Today we
live in a very interesting time in which that traditional nomadic culture coexists with new waves of
urbanization and globalization. Another important aspect of our culture is our deep connection to
the landscape and to nature. But where, traditionally, nature used to define our mindset, now we face
a new era in which the human mindset also defines nature. This new development presents as many
challenges as opportunities.
The Arts Council of Mongolia aims to develop, promote and preserve the art and culture of Mongolia. What are the
Arts Council’s key priorities, and what have been your main challenges and achievements?
We believe culture belongs to everyone. That is why this organization was established, by people who
believed that culture is important in our everyday life. Today, our board is broadly representative of
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Mongolian society. They represent those who produce art, who support culture, and who enjoy and
consume it.
For a democratic society, the voices of artists are very important. They are a mirror of what is going
on in society. In the old system, culture was treated as a way to promote the political system. But
since 1990, culture has become the voice of the society. That is why for us, the voices of young and
emerging artists who work in very different genres - music, visual arts, dance, filmmaking - are very
important. For the last ten years, we have been trying to support a network of young artists and arts
managers, to give them the opportunity to create their work, to distribute their work, and to connect
to the people. Also, we broadly support international cooperation and artistic exchange.
Cultural heritage is also very important, and we contribute to preserving our cultural heritage to
the extent that we can afford. We have worked to transmit traditional knowledge and values to the
younger generation by creating a museum education program, organizing cultural festivals, preserving
the Amarbayasgalant monastery, and producing TV programs.
Now we are supporting international promotion and exchange of Mongolian culture by organizing
foreign tours for Arga Bileg, Altan Urga, the Mongolian National Circus, and the Tumen Ekh
Ensemble, and bringing the best international talents to Mongolia. We believe the Mongolian audience,
after 20 years of democracy, now deserves to see the best works, performances, and productions of
world-renowned artists.
We are glad that there is growing interest in world art, music, dance and cinema among Mongolian
audiences, and we continue to strive to satisfy those interests. Over the past 11 years, through
partnerships with more than 90 private and public donors inside and outside of Mongolia, the Arts
Council of Mongolia has implemented more than 210 projects, worth a total of 4.6 million dollars.
What challenges has your organization faced?
The most difficult challenge is securing sustainable funding. When society is in very good shape and
the government has more funds, they can aspire to culture. Otherwise, there are always emerging
needs in education, health, social security, and so forth. So, we are kind of like an indicator of how
society and the economy are doing.
We always try to be relevant in our programs; we try for sustainable cooperation rather than one-time
partnerships or events; we try not to do what someone else is doing; we try to be strategic in our
initiatives, to see the gap where our expertise and knowledge fit best. Our success really depends on
communication and partnership at all levels, and collaboration within the organization and with the
arts community in Mongolia and abroad.
Somehow we have sustained our organization through both prosperous and challenging times, and I
believe we are going to exist in the future.
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What role do you think art and culture have played in Mongolia’s social and economic development? How is Mongolia
continuing on this path, and where are you now?
As I mentioned before, the arts are a reflection of what is going on in people and in their society. On
one hand, a significant segment of the arts in Mongolia is becoming more commercial; on the other
hand, we have to maintain our cultural balance with openness and curiosity about different cultures
and artistic creations from other peoples and nations.
Ten or fifteen years ago, safeguarding the basic needs of the cultural ecosystem was an important
priority. We were not thinking too much about quality, access and artistic excellence. But now I
believe it is time to think about how to balance two things. First of all, it’s important that the cultural
ecosystem retain its diversity. At the same time, we need to safeguard and promote artistic excellence,
especially art that may have fewer commercial incentives. Art should be like a menu in a restaurant,
because when you have a choice of your meal, it is really about who you are and what you like. Your
ability to choose is important for a democratic society.
Since the 1990s, The Asia Foundation has been a strong promoter of strengthening civil society in Mongolia.Your
organization is an important piece of that civil society. How would you say The Asia Foundation has contributed to
Mongolia in the last 20 years?
I think The Asia Foundation has built a strong legacy here. Back in 1992, when we were adopting
the first democratic institutions, the role of the Foundation was crucial. We were setting up the
framework of democracy - the constitution - where it was declared that artistic expression was free.
It was a crucial moment in our cultural development. So, I truly appreciate this from an artist’s
point of view. We are very proud that Mongolia is one of the landmarks of democracy in Asia, and
I think it is a very important value for the society that everything be, first of all, open, transparent
and accountable. The Asia Foundation’s many surveys and reports, like the corruption index, have
continually encouraged this value. It is already a value in our culture. Our leaders talk a lot about that,
and about trying to do something in that regard, which is very important.
Artists are, I think, very important messengers of society. They create, they talk, they dance and make
films about the time that we are all living in. Our work is to let them create their art, and then to listen
to what they say. It is an important role for the arts in a democracy.
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Ms. Bayaraa Bat-Erdene
Policy Officer for Libraries and Printing Department,
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
You have been a policy officer for libraries in Mongolia for many years. How long have you been associated with the
Books for Asia program, and what are your thoughts about the role and function of libraries in Mongolia today?
I first learned of the Books for Asia program in 1993, when I was a teacher in the Library Department
of the Mongolian State University of Culture and Arts, the only school for librarians in Mongolia.
When I became a policy officer in 2001, my responsibilities grew beyond teaching to include strategic
planning and government policy for the development and operation of libraries. At that time,
Mongolian libraries were hard hit by inadequate funding. Library collections still dated from the
socialist regime, and most books had been acquired between 1920 and 1960. Equipment was aging,
and there were no books in English. Today there are about 1500 libraries in Mongolia, including 800
secondary school libraries, 357 public libraries, 100 university libraries, and libraries for the army and
other institutions.
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The key function of libraries is to provide the public with access to information in all fields of
knowledge, by the most effective means, without restriction or discrimination, and regardless of time
and place. Our goal is for a reader in Uvs or Khentii aimags to be able to get information from the
national library in Ulaanbaatar, or for someone in the capital to be able to read a historic book from
the library of Uvs aimag.
The Books for Asia program encourages the free exchange of ideas by supplying materials in all fields of knowledge.
Since 1993, the program has donated about 800,000 English-language books throughout the country. What is your
personal highlight of working with The Asia Foundation on this program?
I especially remember a big event in 2008, when Books for Asia and the Khaan Bank were donating
English-language books to local libraries. I traveled to Khuvsgul aimag with some officials from the
Foundation and the Mongolian government. The dirt road was very bumpy, and we were exhausted
when we reached the aimag, but when we saw the little children from the elementary school singing
English songs and speaking basic English while holding the English language books donated by
Books for Asia, I was really proud. English is the bridge to connect people to the world. In the 1990s,
there were no English books in the libraries, and there were very few English-speaking people. But in
2008, I saw that many children in the countryside were learning English. That is a big achievement,
and Books for Asia has played a major role.
Last year you had an opportunity to study the American library system during a visit to the United States. What were
the highlights of this study visit?
The study tour was a great opportunity for me to learn how libraries in the United States function how they disseminate information to local communities, how civil society organizations participate
in library activities, and the importance of community engagement for a library’s development. Since
my return, I have put some of these lessons into practice.
My key lesson from the study tour is that citizens’ engagement is crucial to library development. In
the USA, libraries organize many public events for the community, such as meetings with authors
and reading activities for parents and children. After I returned, I managed to organize an activity for
children called “storytelling time” at the Children’s Book Palace, and also to organize finger puppet
performances. It is very successful, and many kindergarten children come to listen and watch the
performances. In fact, sometimes it gets too crowded!
As a specialist in library science, how do you assess Books for Asia’s contribution to Mongolia’s libraries and education
system?
Mongolia is sparsely populated and has a huge territory. But I can say proudly that everyone knows
Books for Asia because of the books they have donated. There is not a single library that has not
received books from Books for Asia.
I think the most important thing for libraries is that the books get used. When I started working as
a policy officer in 2000, many library books looked like new, because nobody used them. Today that
has changed. I think Books for Asia has played a unique role for children, young people, middle-aged
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73
professionals, and kindergarten children learning English. Records of people’s Internet access in the
library show that they search for how to improve their English, how to apply to schools and colleges
in developed countries, and information on science and technology, all using their English language
skills.
Mongolian Libraries have recently started to expand access to electronic resources for academics and researchers, students
and citizens. Could you share some information about this initiative? What progress do you see?
Mongolia is a member of eIFL.net, the international association of electronic libraries. As a member,
Mongolia has inexpensive, online access to some of the world’s top science magazines, so university
students and scientists get a lot of knowledge about modern science and technology through their
schools’ libraries. We also use some English-language software, such as CDS-ISIS of UNESCO,
which is free for developing countries, to find the full text of contemporary scientific articles and
magazines.
We have just created an electronic reading web site, www.elibrary.mn, where you can find the full
text with pictures of about 50 top Mongolian literary works. You can listen to, watch, and read them.
Another project, funded by the World Bank, created a children’s electronic library with the full texts
of 237 children books. That is at www.read.mn.
The Asia Foundation is setting up a new program, Asia Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s
Future, which will focus on identifying, training and developing the next generation of development and policy leaders
in Asia. What advice would you give to the next generation of Mongolian leaders, especially those aspiring to become
active in the field of library science and education?
I think our next young leaders should be highly educated, with a high level of professional skills,
always eager to innovate, good team players, and fluent in English, because English is the bridge
between you and world. They should be able to quickly find and access information, whatever that
information may be, because we are living in the information and technology century.
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Perspectives on
Business
Mr. Od Jamts
President, MCS Group
You have had a very interesting career, having previously worked as first secretary at the Mongolian Embassy in
Washington D.C., as foreign affairs counsel to the Prime Minister of Mongolia, and as honorary consul to Denmark.
What has motivated you along this path?
I graduated from the Moscow School of Diplomacy, and perestroika started while I was studying
there. When I came back to Mongolia, I was dealing with human rights issues, which of course was
quite new then. Because of my involvement in human rights, I spent half a year in New York at the
Mission to the UN, and attended the meetings that dealt with human rights issues. After that, I went
back to the Foreign Ministry’s legal department, and was nominated to the constitutional drafting
committee. Chapter two of the constitution was all about human rights, so we had to work closely
with professors, lawyers, and international organizations like the UN, in order to incorporate all of
the new ideas. In those days, there were very few people speaking English in Ulaanbaatar, and as
one of the only English speakers on the drafting committee at that time, I worked closely with Mr.
Chimid, the father of our constitution, to help translate the laws. This led me to work with The Asia
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Foundation, which was the first international organization in Mongolia offering expertise and technical
assistance on democratic political systems. After that, I worked in our embassy in Washington, and
started dealing with bilateral relations between Congress and Mongolia. When President Elbegdorj
was appointed prime minister, he offered me a position as his advisor for foreign policy.
It was not a very difficult decision to come back. I was realizing that in political work, nothing is
dependent on you, you are just part of a bigger thing, and it’s hard to make a difference. At that
time, Mongolian companies were much smaller, and were looking for international connections for
projects, money, or even just business contacts. My brother, who owned a business, kept asking me
to join him to help the business go international. After the second prime minister resigned, I decided
to join. After 14 years, I still do not regret that move.
The Mongolian economy is growing at an unprecedented rate. Sustained economic growth is boosting gross domestic
product, supporting job creation, reducing poverty levels, and allowing the economy to expand into new areas. Is it
headed in the right direction, and what can the private sector do to support Mongolia’s democratic development?
The economy will, of course, keep growing because of where we started, but how steep the growth is
depends on many factors, including China and the world economy. Mining and related infrastructure
are our main engine of growth, but we need to improve the environment for this engine to run and
to make it more efficient. The main problem I see today is that state involvement in the economy is
growing again, which is a big hurdle, not just for business but for the economy as a whole. I think
many politicians see this as risk-free business for them, and that’s why this trend should be stopped.
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In our benchmarking surveys, corruption, along with unemployment, is always ranked as the top problem. This year,
we conducted our first survey assessing how corruption hurts the private sector. What is your assessment of corruption
in Mongolia today?
Corruption issues are still there, and cases of corruption are becoming more visible. I am an
informed member of this society, but I never suspected that corruption could be so big, and I was
quite surprised how hidden it was. I believe that big corporations like ours encounter less everyday
corruption. Of course, I do have people asking for favors from time to time, but it’s rare, because
they are afraid. We have lawyers, and you aren’t dealing with just one person, you are exposed to many
people.
Mongolia is a very small country, and we help each other by nature more than in Western society, I
believe. It’s a tradition from nomadic culture that you have to help your neighbor, and we have many
extended family relations, so if my cousin asks me for help - if I’m an official, for instance - it’s very,
very hard to say “no”. So, the specifics of Mongolian society require a more nuanced approach to
corruption.
How does MCS Group practice corporate social responsibility, and what can corporate social responsibility do for
Mongolia?
Corporate social responsibility is now quite fashionable. We used to look at it more as a marketing
tool, but now we are increasingly realizing that we are part of society, that you cannot be better
than society itself, and that you have to grow with society. MCS used to do things like sponsoring
something or supporting an orphanage, but now our investment decisions aren’t made based on
profitability; they’re based on what is good for the country. We are about to finish a state-of-the-art
hospital, a $50 million investment, and we aren’t expecting to get any money back. When you grow
to a level where you can consider a project that might not pay anything back for ten years, then if it’s
good for society, for your kids, your friends, your family, you do it.
The Asia Foundation is setting up a new program, Asia Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s
Future, which will focus on identifying, training and developing the next generation of development and policy leaders
in Asia. What advice would you give the next generation of Mongolian business leaders?
Much will depend on Mongolian policies. Over the last two or three years, we’ve seen a lot of young,
educated Mongolians returning from Western countries, because they see a lot of opportunities in
Mongolia to set up their own business or work with a big company. That’s a healthy trend, and if we
have the right policies in place, young, educated people will see that if you bring a corporate culture
into the country, there is opportunity to succeed. My generation is self-made. Most companies started
small, and many went bankrupt. Many lost lives trying to trade with Russia. It was chaotic. Now there
are many more investment opportunities, and it is a very different environment for business starters.
Companies like ours should also start looking at going public; but running public companies will be
a big challenge for our next generation of business people, and it will require much stronger business
ethics.
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Mr. Ganbold Chuluun
Chairman of the Boards of Directors of
Tenger Financial Group and XacBank
Your organization played an important role in assisting The Asia Foundation in establishing itself in Mongolia in the
early 1990s. How do you look backon those early days?
The Federation of Mongolian Peace and Friendship Organizations was one of the few windows to
the outside world during the previous regime, as it continued to be in the early years of political and
economic reforms. It was not like today, when many people can speak English; the language barrier
then was very real. That is why The Asia Foundation and our diplomats abroad contacted us to help
establish a new relationship. We were a good bridge between the West and Mongolia, and I am proud
that I was a part of such a quasi-governmental institution at that time.
I think that when you are a small nation, you have to learn the languages of your neighbors to survive,
to thrive, and to prosper. A small nation also has to be a jack-of-all-trades. It’s the same story with me:
I started as a linguist, but now I am the chairman of the fourth-largest commercial bank in Mongolia
and the first truly diversified financial group, the Tenger Financial Group. It has been a long way, and
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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I am honored that life has allowed me to get in touch with people of different walks of life, both in
Mongolia and in other countries.
It sounds like you had a career full of firsts for Mongolia. What are some of your recollections?
For young people today in Mongolia, it seems natural that so many Mongolians travel, study, and
work abroad, and that so many foreigners are here, some even settling down here. But it used to be
a different world.
In 1986, I attended Mongolia Day, organized by the Asia Society in New York City. The keynote
speakers were the stars of Mongolian Studies - Owen Lattimore, Hangiin Gombojav, you name them
- and I was this young chap coming all the way from Ulaanbaatar and telling them about Mongolia,
and everybody was listening to me and taking me very seriously. Now I feel a little bit embarrassed.
They were giants of Mongolian Studies, but still, I was an attraction - can you imagine? - because I
was fresh from Mongolia. That fall in New York, I heard that Mongolia and the USA were going to
establish diplomatic relations, which the following January, they did.
In those early days, you were working essentially in the public sector. Now, as chair of the Tenger Financial Group and
XacBank, you have moved to the private sector. Why this transition?
I believe that this country is destined to prosper. Having traveled across the world, including Asia
and the Americas, I know that the world has lots of problems, and many of them are truly difficult
to solve, while the problems we have here have solutions. This is a small nation. We have tremendous
natural resources, and we are located next to big markets in both the South and the North, so we are
destined to prosper. So I suppose I just decided that it is better to do something concrete than to talk
too much.
In just the past 20 years, Mongolia has become a democracy and a market economy. What do you foresee for the next
20 years, particularly with regard to the private sector?
The role of the private sector will be crucial and decisive. The last two decades of development are
proof of that. We have transformed this country from a 100 percent state-owned economy into one
with a great role for private entrepreneurship, private business, and private initiatives. In my opinion,
this role will grow. There is always the temptation that things could be better managed and organized
with the government in control of business. But I think we shouldn’t discard the models that have
worked so well in other parts of the world.
When The Asia Foundation first arrived in Mongolia, we made a strong investment in identifying young leaders and
giving them the opportunity to travel and to learn from other places what they felt was important for the new Mongolia.
Now we are considering a new program for young Asian leaders. What advice would you give to the next generation
of Mongolian leaders?
I think your initiative to help Mongolia in this regard was extremely important. The history of the
new, modern Mongolia demonstrates how important true leaders are for this country. But leadership
doesn’t mean just a few people at the top. The entire system needs good leaders at every level, by
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which I mean professionals. We are short of truly good leaders, and you can’t really resolve this issue
in a decade or two. So please, continue this quest for new leaders together with us.
For young people, my advice would be the same as I always say (I have friends even among young
people): be crazy, have the craziest ideas, do everything you think is possible. Not everything will be
taken and implemented, but to have new ideas, that is a very good starting point for a good leader at
any level.
What would you say The Asia Foundation’s most significant contributions have been to Mongolia in the past 20 years?
And looking forward, in what direction should the Foundation be going?
I do appreciate your determination to come to Mongolia at that early time. You were one of the first
foreign institutions to open a permanent office in Mongolia, starting with very basic but important
things, such as rule of law, when we were discovering what democracy is. You were also instrumental
for the outside world to discover Mongolia at a time when Mongolia was truly not a travel destination
on the map. You served as a bridge, and then a lot of other institutions followed suit, opening their
offices here and becoming more deeply involved in Mongolia.
The Asia Foundation can also be proud of those young leaders you discovered at that time, who are
now working everywhere, in different industries, in different branches of the government and society.
For the future, Mongolia is changing. We are fast learners, and we are hungry for knowledge. At
this moment, I like to say, it has become a two-way street. At the beginning, we were only asking for
support; now we have something to offer to the rest of the world. But to make this happen at a larger
scale and in a balanced way, we need truly skilled professionals. So, Asia Foundation programs that
train young professionals will be extremely valuable for Mongolia
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
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Mr. Demberel Sambuu
Member of Parliament and Chairman and CEO of the
Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry
You have had a long career in the business sector as head of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and
Industry. What are the key priorities of the Chamber today, and what have been your main achievements and
challenges over the years?
The Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has two main functions by law. One
is business policy advocacy, and the other is business promotion. Within these two main functions,
we are developing new services to companies and we are working for a better business environment.
In the broader context, we are trying to identify bottlenecks in economic policy and propose alternative
programs and approaches. Since 2005, we have supported a public-private dialogue mechanism to
help the voices of businesses be heard and really reflected in the decision-making process of both
Parliament and the government. I think this is a very important job for the Chamber, and we are
succeeding. Of course there are many challenges ahead. But the most important thing is that the
government, starting with the President, has started to talk about people’s participation. The Chamber
is trying to educate decision-makers to not just listen to people’s voices but to work together.
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In addition to being Chairman and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, you are a Member of Parliament. How do
you manage these two important roles?
As Chairman and CEO of the Chamber, I have written hundreds of letters to Ministers and Members
of Parliament with proposals and recommendations. Now that I am inside the Parliament, I finally
understand why my letters were sometimes not even opened. With maybe thousands of papers and
letters daily, MPs may not be so interested in their everyday correspondence. So, I am trying to bring
some insight to the other MPs - what do business people think; what do they want? - and in doing so
try to make better laws affecting business.
So my job is now to give business people a voice, and not just business people, but people in general.
For example, thousands of people in Mongolia have no access to financial services. Companies have
access to banks or non-banking financial institutions, but ordinary people have to go to pawn shops.
They don’t have collateral. There is a new term, “inclusive finance.” That’s what Mongolia lacks.
Mongolia is very proud of its high economic growth rate, but thousands of people are excluded - not
only poor people but micro-entrepreneurs. It should be inclusive, not exclusive. So, I am working on
that.
You say you are now working on legislation to improve the business environment. What would you say the current
business environment is like in Mongolia?
Good. In the field of foreign trade, we have achieved some good results. The number of documents
required for export and import has been reduced, and there will be a 50 percent reduction in licensing
and special permissions, which will give good results to the business community and lower the risk
of the corruption. We are also working on government services. For example, we are trying to set up
one-stop-shop service.
At the same time, we have some very dangerous symptoms of state capitalism. State intervention in
the economy is high enough, and it is increasing. Instead of freeing business people to do business,
the state is becoming a businessman. Out of almost 50,000 enterprises in Mongolia, 4,500 are stateowned in some respect. This is very tangible in the mining sector, the energy sector, and many others.
We really have to care about this issue, because it will ultimately lead to real corruption.
Tell me a bit about your work with MONPAC, the Mongolian Parliamentarians Against Corruption. How would
you assess the current state of corruption in Mongolia, and how is it affecting the country’s development?
First, anyone fighting corruption must look for the root. The root is excessive regulations and
arbitrary provisions that make you vulnerable to state servants. Second, the fight against corruption
must not be politicized. It should not be a tool for taking revenge or for punishing your opponents.
So in MONPAC we have made plans, first of all, to improve relevant laws - not just anti-corruption
laws, but accounting laws, financial regulations, monitoring of budget expenditures - to make them
effective tools against corruption. But of course it is about not only laws but also codes of conduct.
I am chairing PACI, the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative. We are
working on a big book in which 150 companies present their action plans against corruption at the
company level. This is a first. Usually the focus of anti-corruption activities is government action,
The Asia Foundation - 20 Years in Mongolia: Perspectives of 20 Mongolian Leaders
83
as if government were perfect. But government is a troublemaker. Why not work with the private
sector, encouraging them, incentivizing them, not only by laws but by this moral code of conduct, this
so-called corporate social responsibility, telling society that company A or company B does not give
bribes, that they have a corruption-free business environment, that this is their company philosophy?
You were one of the early grantees of The Asia Foundation, and I’d like to ask you for a few recollections from those
early days of our work here.
It is really interesting to me to think back. In 1990, Mongolian society was very enthusiastic, optimistic
and naïve. The whole society was naïve. We were learning the ABCs of a market economy and how to
live in this new society. One of the institutions working in Mongolia then was The Asia Foundation.
We did not have any books on market economics, so first, The Asia Foundation formed our library.
Then they organized workshops on markets, business and development. I have really good memories
of those activities, which brought new elements and new ideas to Mongolian society.
There is your famous definition of democracy, that it is government of the people, by the people, for
the people. That was really encouraged by The Asia Foundation in all their activities. When you are
trying to help other countries in the democratization process, it is not about exporting democracy,
it is about empowering local people to learn how to express themselves, how to gain from and
contribute to society as individuals. So The Asia Foundation was kind of an invisible hand in the
localization of these democratic values.
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REPORT CREDITS
The Asia Foundation would like to thank the 20 leaders featured in this publication for agreeing to be interviewed by the
Foundation’s Country Representative Meloney C. Lindberg on the occasion our 20th anniversary in Mongolia. We would
also like to thank the various persons who contributed to this publication: David D. Arnold, Layton Croft, Katherine S.
Hunter, William S. Infante, Balu Iyer, Sheldon R. Severinghaus and Nancy Yuan.
We are grateful to the following persons for photos of the 20 leaders: Alma Freeman and Tenzing Paljor.
Design and Editorial: Chinkhand Dorj, Alma Freeman, Meloney C. Lindberg, John H. Rieger and Tirza Theunissen.
We would also like to thank all other Foundation staff and external persons involved in the development of this publication.
Printed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia by Munkhiin Useg Group.
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REPORT CREDITS
Contact Us
The Asia Foundation Mongolia
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Ulaanbaatar, 14210 Mongolia
Mailing Address:
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Ulaanbaatar 14201
Mongolia
Tel: + 976 (11) 330-524 or 323-413
Fax: + 976 (11) 311-497
Email: [email protected]
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