-- 4 new ministers appointed, raising number of legislators with ‘double deel’ --

Last week, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene issued an ordinance on appointing Ch.Khurelbaatar as deputy prime minister and minister of economy and development, lawmaker S.Chinzorig as minister of health, member of Parliament Kh.Bulgantuya as head of the State Committee for Port Revitalization (minister) and parliamentarian Ts.Davaasuren as minister of construction and urban development.

With the new appointments, this is now the largest Cabinet in Mongolia’s history with 22 members. The newly appointed ministers took their oaths in Parliament in accordance with Article 39.4 of the Constitution and Article 23.2 of the Law on the Government of Mongolia.

Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene remarked during the parliamentary plenary session, “I deeply believe our newly-appointed members would put painstaking efforts into successful implementation of the New Revival Policy’s goals, aimed to solve constraints on development during the difficult time when the pandemic and geopolitical crises hit the world.”

During its irregular meeting on January 6, Cabinet also appointed G.Tuvdendorj as deputy minister of economy and development, M.Ganbaatar as deputy minister of environment and tourism, O.Tsendsuren as deputy minister of mining and heavy industry, S.Enkhbold as deputy minister of health and J.Erkhembaatar as deputy minister of digital development and communications.

As the Constitution of Mongolia reads, Cabinet members are to be appointed with approval from Parliament and the president of Mongolia. The newly appointed ministers pledged to Parliament, “As a member of the government, I will respect the interests of our country, statehood, historical and cultural traditions and the Constitution of Mongolia, and I will be free from corruption and conflicts of interest, and be personally accountable to the state, people and the prime minister of Mongolia. I swear that I will fulfill my duties as a member of the government fairly. If I break this oath, I will accept punishment.”

The new appointments raised the number of parliamentarians with “double deel” (holding dual posts in Cabinet and Parliament) from 13 to 16.