Mongolia’s National news agency MONTSAME names Mongolia’s most important events that took place in 2009 nationwide:

1. The 5th Presidential elections
Regular presidential elections took place on May 24, 2009. By the final results, the Democratic Party’s (DP) candidate Elbegdorj Tsakhia was elected as the 5th president of Mongolia collecting votes of 51.24 percent of the nation. His rival was N.Enkhbayar, the former President and candidate of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP).

2. The 70th anniversary of the Victory at Khalkh Gol Battle
This anniversary was celebrated by Mongolia, Russia and other countries. Several events and measures were dedicated to the occasion that ran from May to September. During the celebration, two visits were paid by Russian President D.Medvedev and Prime Minister V. Putin. The title of Hero of Mongolia was bestowed upon D. Gungaa, a war veteran and the State Honored Pilot.

3. The Third Campaign for Reclaiming Virgin Lands
This campaign was implemented successfully by the coalition government. Thanks to these efforts, Mongolia had the richest ever harvest not seen in the last 15 years. There were 392.2 thousand tons of grain, 156.0 thousand tons of potatoes and 81.4 thousand tons of vegetables harvested.

4. Investment agreement for exploiting the Oyu Tolgoi mineral deposit
The coalition government of Mongolia established an investment deal on October 6 on exploiting the Oyu Tolgoi mineral deposit with Canada’s ‘Rio Tinto’ Group and ‘Ivanhoe Mines’ Ltd.Co.

5. Full membership of State Parliament is created
Mongolia’s parliament had been working without several members since the parliamentary elections held in 2008. A candidate of the DP, S.Erdene was sworn MP after a court made a decision from the 24th constituency in the city’s Bayangol district. In addition, a by-election was held in the 25th constituency after its parliamentarian Ts.Elbegdorj became the President. For this place, a candidate of the MPRP, D.Zorigt was elected MP through by-election.

6. Crashes of banks
In 2009, the global crisis greatly affected economic and financial sectors of Mongolia. Due to this, many commercial banks became bankrupt.

7. Swine-flu brings disaster
The swine flu virus (A/H1N1) was initially recorded in Mexico during March, 2009 and spread to Mongolia creating a disaster that killed 28 people and infected more than 1,200 others. Nationwide, quarantine was enforced for secondary schools and kindergartens after the State called a ‘heightened state of alert’. The very first TV lessons were broadcast for the children kept at home.

8. Prime Minister S. Bayar resigns
S. Bayar, the 25th Prime Minister of Mongolia resigned from his post in late October due to his health-related condition. He had been the chair for the Coalition Government. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, S.Batbold became the 26th Prime Minister of Mongolia.

9. Floods destroy the lives of people
Heavy rains took place from July 16-18, creating floods in Ulaanbaatar and killed 24 people. The rain also caused many losses in some aimags.

10. First gold medals from world championships
State Honored Sportsman and Olympic bronze medalist Kh.Tsagaanbaatar won a gold medal in the Judo World Championship held August 26-30 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. For Mongolia, this was the very first gold medal in world championship competition. He competed in the men’s 66 kg weight category.

State Honored Sportsman and Olympic silver medalist P.Serdamba, won a gold medal in the men’s 48 kg weight category in the World Amateur Boxing Championship that ran from September 1-12 in Milan, Italy. This medal was also the very first gold medal in this kind of sport in the nation. The world champions were awarded with the title of Hero of Labor of Mongolia. Other Mongolians also showed brilliant success in the sports and arts spheres.

During the 20th anniversary of the Democratic Revolution, E.Bat-Uul MP was awarded a title of Hero of Mongolia.

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