Mongolia profile
President: Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
Standing for the opposition Democratic Party, veteran democracy campaigner and former prime minister Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj won just over 51% of the vote in the 2009 presidential election.
He beat the incumbent NambarynEnkhbayar of the governing Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), which accepted the result as fair.
The peaceful outcome came after fears of a repeat of the violence which followed opposition claims of fraud after the Democratic Party's defeat in the 2008 parliamentary elections.
Mr Elbegdorj campaigned on promises to fight corruption and to spread the profits of Mongolia's mineral wealth more widely.
To achieve the second aim, he planned to tighten rules for contracts under which foreign mining firms operate.
His message proved popular in the big cities, especially the capital Ulan Bator, and was helped by widespread poverty.
However, he faced a parliament which continued to be dominated by a solid MPRP majority, although Prime Minister Sanjagiin Bayar promised to ensure that his government would work with the president.
The prime minister and parliament exercise real political power, but the president heads the armed forces and has the power of veto in parliament. Frequent changes of government have also enhanced the role of the presidency.
Born in 1963, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was one of the leaders of the peaceful revolution that ended the Communist dictatorship in 1990.
Since then, he has served as prime minister twice, briefly in 1998, and in 2006-8.
Prime Minister: Sukhbaataryn Batbold
Mr Batbold was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold became prime minister unexpectedly in October 2009 when his predecessor Sanjagiin Bayar resigned for health reasons.
Mr Batbold consolidated his hold on power when he also took over from Mr Bayar as leader of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in April 2010. He renamed it the Mongolian People's Party in November.
Born in 1963, Mr Batbold ran the Mongolian side of a major gold-mining venture with the Canadian company Centerra Gold in 1992-2000, and his wife runs his hotel and cashmere industry interests in the Altai Trading Company.
Mr Batbold has continued his predecessor's policy of encouraging foreign investment in the mining industries, thereby presiding over some of the highest growth rates in the world. Concerns remain about corruption and the failure of the mining wealth to reach much of the population.
Standing for the opposition Democratic Party, veteran democracy campaigner and former prime minister Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj won just over 51% of the vote in the 2009 presidential election.
He beat the incumbent NambarynEnkhbayar of the governing Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), which accepted the result as fair.
The peaceful outcome came after fears of a repeat of the violence which followed opposition claims of fraud after the Democratic Party's defeat in the 2008 parliamentary elections.
Mr Elbegdorj campaigned on promises to fight corruption and to spread the profits of Mongolia's mineral wealth more widely.
To achieve the second aim, he planned to tighten rules for contracts under which foreign mining firms operate.
His message proved popular in the big cities, especially the capital Ulan Bator, and was helped by widespread poverty.
However, he faced a parliament which continued to be dominated by a solid MPRP majority, although Prime Minister Sanjagiin Bayar promised to ensure that his government would work with the president.
The prime minister and parliament exercise real political power, but the president heads the armed forces and has the power of veto in parliament. Frequent changes of government have also enhanced the role of the presidency.
Born in 1963, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was one of the leaders of the peaceful revolution that ended the Communist dictatorship in 1990.
Since then, he has served as prime minister twice, briefly in 1998, and in 2006-8.
Prime Minister: Sukhbaataryn Batbold
Mr Batbold was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold became prime minister unexpectedly in October 2009 when his predecessor Sanjagiin Bayar resigned for health reasons.
Mr Batbold consolidated his hold on power when he also took over from Mr Bayar as leader of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in April 2010. He renamed it the Mongolian People's Party in November.
Born in 1963, Mr Batbold ran the Mongolian side of a major gold-mining venture with the Canadian company Centerra Gold in 1992-2000, and his wife runs his hotel and cashmere industry interests in the Altai Trading Company.
Mr Batbold has continued his predecessor's policy of encouraging foreign investment in the mining industries, thereby presiding over some of the highest growth rates in the world. Concerns remain about corruption and the failure of the mining wealth to reach much of the population.
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