Chimediin Saikhanbileg

Chimediin Saikhanbileg (; born 17 February 1969) is a Mongolian politician who served as the 28th Prime Minister of Mongolia from 2014 to 2016, and whose work and career are associated with the political, economic, and mining sectors of Mongolia. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected as a member of the State Great Khural (parliament) in 1996, 2008, and 2012. In his early political years, he was appointed to the first cabinet of Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj as minister of education in 1998. Saikhanbileg later became the Chief Cabinet Secretary for the cabinet of Norovyn Altankhuyag in 2012. He served in this role until the resignation of Altankhuyag and his subsequent appointment as prime minister in 2014. In an effort to relieve the economy, Saikhanbileg's cabinet notably oversaw the finalization of Oyu Tolgoi mine project's two-year stalled investment deal with Rio Tinto in 2015 and purchase of Russia's 49% stake in Erdenet Mining Corporation in 2016. These decisions were met with domestic controversy and criticism, especially from the Mongolian People's Party (MPP). Saikhanbileg and notable other Democratic leaders were unseated in 2016, when the party lost to the MPP. Saikhanbileg was briefly arrested by corruption probes in 2018

Early life and education Saikhanbileg was born on 17 February 1969, the easternmost province of Mongolia. His father, Chimed, and mother, Orolmaa Alag, were both engineers. His father oversaw the construction of new industrial, cultural, and residential buildings, and the new airport built by the Russian Construction Company in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, greatly contributed to the development of the city's modern image and appearance. His mother, Orolmaa, personally carried out the technical work of developing film for all Mongolian feature films from the early 1960s to the mid-1990s.

Saikhanbileg attended the 45th secondary school in Ulaanbaatar between 1976 and 1986. During his school years, he was a socially active student, serving as a board member of the children's organization of all schools in the capital. In 1983, he organized and supervised the largest Mongolian children's assembly, the 5th Annual Inheritor Conference. He also worked at the Mongolian National Broadcaster as a host of children's shows.

After graduating from secondary school, Saikhanbileg went to Moscow to study history at Moscow University for the Humanities from 1986 to 1991 and received a bachelor's degree in History and History Education.

When working for the Mongolian Youth Federation, Mongolia's largest youth NGO, Saikhanbileg studied law and received his Bachelor of Law degree from the School of Law of the Mongolian National University in 1995. After his full-term service as a member of parliament, Saikhanbileg spent a year in Boulder, Colorado, at the University of Colorado Economics Institute from 2000 to 2001 and subsequently completed his master's degree at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Political career As a young student in Moscow, Saikhanbileg witnessed Gorbachev's Perestroika and Glasnost; shortly afterwards, the fall of the Berlin Wall. As soon as he graduated from the university in 1991, he started to actively participate in the Mongolian democratic revolution and transition. At that time, the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party was influencing Mongolian youth through its largest youth organization, the Mongolian Revolutionary Youth League. Saikhanbileg initiated and implemented numerous reforms and ideas in line with the ideals and mindsets of youths, including the reorganization of this organization into the Mongolian Youth Federation (MYF), modernizing its form into that of the classical non-governmental organizations, and expelling party influence. Between 1992 and 1997, Saikhanbileg served as the secretary general of the MYF.

Member of Parliament (1996–2000)

As a member of the Democratic Union Coalition, Saikhanbileg ran and won in the 1996 parliamentary election from the 68th Songino Khairkhan district of Ulaanbaatar, becoming the youngest member of the State Great Khural at the age of 27. After his election, Saikhanbileg became President of the MYF in 1997 and served until 2002. and, within only 2 years, Mongolia advanced from the 97th to the 56th in the world ranking. Moreover, by certain indicators, Mongolia ranked among the top 20 countries.

He established a permanent 11-11 Call Center for citizens to submit complaints and feedback, introduced government service electronic machines capable of providing 34 public services, implemented reforms in the professional inspectorate, and reformed government-issued permits for businesses and citizens, lowering the number from 900 to 300.

Prime Minister of Mongolia (2014–2016)

Saikhanbileg was appointed the 28th Prime Minister of Mongolia on 21 November 2014, following the resignation of Norovyn Altankhuyag on 9 November. In his address to the parliament on the day of his appointment as the country's Premier, Saikhanbileg noted: "My Government's priority will be the Economy, with the second priority being the Economy and the third – Economy."

He is credited with reducing budget expenditures by MNT 2 trillion consecutively over 2 years. Collaborating with the Bank of Mongolia, he implemented "Good" programs to protect low-income segments of the population and support the middle class. Also, as a result of implementing the VAT registration system reform, cash transactions were drastically reduced, and the number of cash and cashless transaction machines increased by a factor of 4 in the first year alone. Compared with the economic performance of 2008–2009, when the country was under the same grave economic conditions and had shrunk by 1.3%, the economy under Saikhanbileg's management grew modestly by 1.3%, under the same tough economic circumstances.

Saikhanbileg, as Prime Minister, worked to attract foreign investment to Mongolia. He visited the main capital markets: London, New York, Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Singapore; met with the leaders, businesses, and investors from those countries; organized Investment conferences in each country he visited; presented Mongolian markets and mega projects; and invited them to invest. He also visited prominent television studios such as CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, BBC, and CCTV for live programs to speak about the political environment surrounding the Mongolian economy and investment. He met with the World Bank, IMF, IFC, Credit Suisse, EBRD, ADB, and ING, and their executives, and came up with specific solutions for investment and co-operation in Mongolia.thumb leftAs a result, the two-year negotiation of the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine was concluded, and the decision to launch a $4.2 billion construction project was reached on 19 May 2015. Inaugurating the Oyu Tolgoi Project, Saikhanbileg said, "From now on, the OT project transforms from a controversial political matter into a business project. From now on, the matter will be settled by the members of the board and not by politicians."

On 15-16 July 2016, as prime minister, Saikhanbileg, hosted the leaders of state and government of 53 countries of Europe and Asia for the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM) in the capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.

Post-premiership In the 2016 parliamentary election, the Democratic Party, with 9 seats, lost to the Mongolian People's Party which won a supermajority of 65 seats. Saikhanbileg and several high-ranking officials within the DP were unseated.

On 10 April 2018, Saikhanbileg alongside former prime minister Sanjiin Bayar was arrested by anti-corruption agencies when he returned from the US to cooperate with investigations into allegations of corruption and abuse of power. At the request of the corruption probe, two courts ordered that both ex-prime ministers be held for 30 days in a detention centre. In an open letter, Saikhanbileg himself denied the allegations of bribery and misuse of power. While he was abroad, he was charged with four charges for his role in the 2015 Oyu-tolgoi agreement and an arrest warrant was issued by the government in 2020, whom he and his lawyer state it to be a "politically motivated" charges by then-president Khaltmaagiin Battulga, who attempted to seize the judiciary in 2019.

On 13 February 2020, former DP chairman and outgoing Chief of Staff of president Battulga, Zandaakhüügiin Enkhbold, told in a press conference that former prime minister Saikhanbileg applied for an American citizenship. Saikhanbileg made his first media appearance in 2024 on the Lkhagvyn TOIM talk show. During the interview, he stated he won't become a US citizen and "will end my life as a Mongolian citizen."

Family and personal life Saikhanbileg is married and is a father of three. He met his wife, Baigal, at the Mongolian Student Festival on the shores of Lake Baikal. Saikhanbileg and Baigal married in 1993. Saikhanbileg is fluent in Mongolian, Russian, and English.

Saikhanbileg engages in powerlifting as a hobby. He was elected the President of the Mongolian Powerlifting Federation from 2010 to 2017.