Oyunerdene Luvsannamsrai

Childhood and Education

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai was born in Ulaanbaatar city, but he was raised in Khentii province. He spent most of his childhood with his grandfather. He could not talk even when he was 5 years old. Against some suggestions that he could be sent to a special school his grand father relentlessly fought for him. He frequently brought him to the local mineral spa in Delgerkhaan, Khentii for treatment and finally Oyun-erdene could talk. When he was in high school he was a very socially active child. He was a TV announcer, a poet and a flutist. He also was a leader of the Scout Club. He studied at Bers University as a journalist. After the graduation he headed back to his hometown unlike his peers- young graduates.

Early career at the Berkh soum

The Human Resource Officer first offered him the job of a watchman and he accepted it. After 10 days he was appointed as the Head of the Secretariat of the Governor of Berkh, Khentii. He had just fulfilled the requirement not to reject a job or work. As a young leader he confronted many challenging tasks such as organizing army enlistment, fighting against alcoholism, and providing support to herders in snow disaster hit soums. He saw huge development gap between the urban and the rural areas, which still has strong implications for his political viewpoint, as was reflected in his 2nd book “Asian Khuleg Mongolia” published in 2016.

Acting team leader of World Vision

He developed some proposals to connect the urban and rural and approached a number of international organizations and at the end, he caught the eyes of an important person, the Resident Representative of World Vision International. Mr. Warren offered him the position of the team leader of the Khan Khentii Area Development Program (ADP), a local branch of the organization. Under his leadership the team successfully implemented community based development projects and programs in close cooperation with local children, women and youth groups. Oyun-Erdene even wrote lyrics of the ADP’s own anthem. Many projects and programs they implemented earned national recognition and he was eventually promoted to become the zonal director of the organization. While working for the World Vision International he participated in the international project management program of University of Melbourne. .

Career at the Bayanzurkh district

He initiated Bayanzurkh (Rich heart)- One Heart” project when he was working as the Head of the Department of social policy of Bayanzürkh of Ulaanbaatar. This initiative served as the motto of the local parliamentary election campaign and brought many to win the election. Based on his long term experience of working with international organizations he realized that rational public policy is the key to a country’s development and he started to serve as the chairman of the local branch # 27 of the Mongolian People's Party. In 2009, he wrote his first book “The vision” based on his daily diary which became the best seller right away.

Career at the Mongolian People's Party

In relation to the Mongolian presidential election, 2013 the Mongolian People's Party reformed its internal structures and Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai was appointed as the Director of the Organizational Department of the Party. Having realized the essential need for reforming the party starting from its name he initiated and developed the “Development agenda-6” party platform and implemented campaigns such as “Calling for opinions of fellow citizens”, “Social Democratic Campaigns” and restored the Party’s original name, which according to many is regarded as the main cause for the Party’s loss of the Mongolian parliamentary election, 2012, which also is considered as the crucial step towards reforming the Party. In 2010 he was elected as the President of the Social Democracy Mongolian Youth Federation, the largest political youth organization of Mongolia. For the purpose of defining policy based on perspectives and opinions of youth he facilitated many nationwide programs and discussions such as “In my opinion”, “Challenges of Ankhaa and Khulan”, and “Young Leadership” and established a “Youth Development Center”. When he resigned from his role as the President of the Youth Federation he stood firm on his position to restrict the age of members and heads of the Youth Federation under 35. In 2011 he served as the Secretary of the Party. In 2012 he served the acting Secretary General of the Party.

Harvard Graduate

After the Democratic Party’s victory over the Mongolian parliamentary election, 2012 , Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai went to the United States and enrolled in a master degree program in public administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. After successful graduation in 2015 he went back to his native country and established the “Asian Khuleg Mongolia” policy think tank in Mongolia. Also, he is a member of Asia Leadership Trek. His political viewpoint is that a country’s development is much dependent on its people focused policies. Currently he is a Mongolian People's Party candidate contesting a constituency seat in Khentii Province. The parliamentary election will be held in June, 2016.

Personal life

He got married with a classmate from high school. Currently he lives with his wife and two sons.

Interviews