Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan (; born 4 June 1955) was the prime minister of Mongolia from July 7, 1996 to April 23, 1998, the first in 80 years not belonging to the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. Life Early years Enkhsaikhan was born 1955 in Ulaanbaatar. He participated International Mathematical Olympiad in 1973 and took bronze medal. He earned PhD in economic sciences from the Kiev State University, former USSR in the 1970s. From 1978 to 1988 he worked as an economist, researcher and deputy head of a department at the Foreign Ministry of Mongolia. From 1988 to 1990 he worked as a specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade and in the meantime, he was a director of a market research institute. From 1990 to 1992 he held a seat in the State Small Khural (parliament) for the first time, representing the Mongolian Democratic Party (1990) and chaired a standing committee in the parliament. From 1992 to 1993 he held a seat in the State Great Khural (parliament) representing the Mongolian Democratic Party. He was appointed as a president of the Academy for Political Education in 1992. After that he served as the chairman of the common elections commission of Mongolian National Democratic Party and Mongolian Social Democratic Party for the presidential elections of June 6, 1993. From 1993 to 1996 he worked as the chairman of the Presidential office for Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, first official president of Mongolia. Prime Minister Enkhsaikhan became Prime Minister of Mongolia on July 7, 1996 after the Mongolian Democratic Union Coalition won at the parliamentary elections. Enkhsaikhan was the elections campaign manager of Mongolian Democratic Union while Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was the coalition chairman. This made Enkhsaikhan the first prime minister since the 1920s who wasn't a member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). He presided over a period of aggressive economic reforms, including housing privatization, acceleration of other privatization programs, liberalization of most remaining controlled prices, closure of insolvent banks and elimination of duties on imports. Mongolian relations with international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which had been strained due to slow reforms under the previous regime, strengthened. However, his tenure was cut short when the parliamentary majority of Democratic Party (DP) and Mongolian Social Democratic Party forced him to resign in April 1998, because of tensions between him and other leaders in the Coalition as well as