Government and Politics

President

Mongolia's president has a largely symbolic role, but can block the Parliament's decisions, who can then overrule the veto by a two-thirds majority. Mongolia's constitution provides three requirements for taking office as president; the candidate must be a native-born Mongolian, be at least 45 years of age, and have resided in Mongolia for five years prior to taking office. The president is also required to formally resign his or her party membership. The current president is Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, a former two-time prime minister and member of the Democratic Party. He was elected as president on May 24, 2009 and inaugurated on June 18.

The State Great Khural

Mongolia uses a unicameral parliamentary system in which the president has a symbolic role and the government chosen by the legislature exercises executive power. The legislative arm, the State Great Khural, has one chamber with 76 seats and is chaired by the speaker of the house. It elects its members every four years by general elections. The State Great Khural is powerful in the Mongolian government with the president being largely symbolic and the prime minister being confirmed from the parliament.

The Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of Mongolia is elected by the State Great Khural. The current prime minister is Sukhbaataryn Batbold who assumed the office on 29 October 2009. The deputy prime minister is Norovyn Altankhuyag. There are ministers of each department (finance, defense, labor, agriculture, etc.) and those offices constitute the prime minister's cabinet.