Dogsomyn Bodoo

Dogsomyn Bodoo Догсомын Бодоо
Prime Minister of Mongolia
In office 16 April 1921 – 7 January 1922
Preceded by	Dambyn Chagdarjav
Succeeded by	Jalkhanz Khutagt Sodnomyn Damdinbazar
Personal details
Born	1895 Mandshir Hutagt, Töv Province, Mongolia
Died	August 31, 1922 (1922-08-31) (age 89) Niislel Khüree

This is a Mongolian name. The given name is Bodoo, and the name Dogsom is a patronymic, not a family name.

Dogsomyn Bodoo (Догсомын Бодоо; 1895-1922 ^[1]) was a Prime Minister of Mongolia from 1921 to 1922. He had been a lama before becoming a clerk and a founding member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party.^[2] He became Prime Minister of the provisional parliamentary state from April 16, 1921 to January 7, 1922. He was executed in a power struggle in 1922.^[3]

Early life

Bodoo was born in 1895 in Mandshir Hutagt in present-day Töv Province. He studied at the Mongolian Language and Literature School in Niislel Hüree (present-day Ulan Bator), became a scribe at the Shaviyn Yaam (religious affairs office) and then a Mongolian Language teacher at the Russian Consulate's school of interpreters.^[4] He was literate in Mongolian, Tibetan, Manchu and Chinese.^[5][6] He became the Niislel Hüree representative of the Harbin newspaper Mongolyn Sonin Bichig and, under the pseudonym Bold or Bo, correspondent and editor of Shine Tol' and Niislel Hüreeniy Sonin Bichig newspapers.^[7]

Founding of the Mongolian People's Party

While working at the Russian Consulate, Bodoo became acquainted with many Russians and learned about Russian Bolshevism. In 1919 founded the secret revolutionary organization Konsulyn Denj (Consular Hill group), which eventually joined with Sükhbaatar's Züün Hüree organization to form the Mongolian People's Party(MPP). Among the early core members of Konsulyn Denj were Dambyn Chagdarjav and Khorloogiin Choibalsan, who worked as Bodoo's Russian interpreter.^[8]

Bodoo was a member of the MPP delegation, along with Sükhbaatar, Chagdarjav, Choibalsan, and Soliin Danzan that traveled to the Soviet Union in 1920 to establish contact with the Bolsheviks.^[9]

Prime minister

From March 1921, Bodoo served in the provisional revolutionary government as foreign minister, and from April 16, concurrently as prime minister, replacing Chagdarjav. On September 14, 1921 Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Bodoo signed and issued Mongolia's Declaration of Independence.^[10]

Soon after becoming prime minister the political rivalry between Bodoo and Soliin Danzan intensified when Danzan lost his seat as party leader to a relative of Bodoo's. Danzan, who chaffed while working under Bodoo as Minister of Finance, engineered various plans to remove Bodoo from office by convincing and persuading influential figures that Bodoo was "short-tempered and short-sighted" and that he should be removed because he was not a serious person.^[11]

Downfall

In late 1921 Bodoo caused an uproar when he launched a campaign (with the help of the MRYU, the Mongolian Revolutionary Youth Union) designed to "modernize" the people by cutting off the cuffs of women's deels (national dress) and forcing women to cut their hair short among other measures .^[12] Although the MRYU was founded in 1921 to combat counter-revolutionary activity, party rivals including Choibalsan, Danzan and Rinchino, soon manipulated it to purge their enemies.

Purged

Danzan, instigated by the Soviets, used the affair to accuse Bodoo of plotting with the charismatic independence leader Ja Lama as well as colluding with the Chinese and Americans to undermine the revolution and establish an autocratic government. Bodoo responded on January 7, 1922 by asking to be relieved of all his positions within the government for health reasons.^[13]

Death

Not satisfied with allowing Bodoo to live out his life in quiet retirement, Danzan pressed the charges against Bodoo until he, along with several other former ministers including his predecessor Dambyn Chagdarjav, was convicted for conspiring with reactionary enemies to destroy the government. Bodoo was arrested, interrogated by a Russian agent and then executed by shooting on August 31, 1922.^[14]

Looking to prevent a possible backlash from religious groups (Bodoo was a lama) Party leaders including Sühkbaatar asked the Hutagt, or saint incarnate, Jalkhanz Khutagt Sodnomyn Damdinbazar to become the next prime minister. Damdinbazar did not last very long in the job. He died a little more than 15 months later June 23, 1923.^[15]

References

1. ^ http://rulers.org/rulm2.html#mongolia
2. ^ William A. Brown, Urgunge Onon, B. Shirėndėv (1976). History of the Mongolian People's Republic. East Asian Research Center, Harvard University : distributed by Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674398629. http://books.google.com/books?id=WecdAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Dogsomyn+Bodoo&dq=%22Dogsomyn+Bodoo&pgis=1. 
3. ^ Jamie Bisher (2005). White Terror. Routledge. ISBN 0714656909. http://books.google.com/books?id=t8sdihXN47wC&pg=PT318&dq=%22Dogsomyn+Bodoo&sig=obS-M2B0Mgn9TnlyYCEYyGgiGdE. 
4. ^ Sanders, Alan J.K. (1996). Historical Dictionary of Mongolia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3077-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=octwAAAAMAAJ&q=Historical+Dictionary+of+Mongolia&dq=Historical+Dictionary+of+Mongolia&pgis=1. 
5. ^ Bat-Ėrdėniĭn Baabar, Christopher Kaplonski (1999). History of the Mongolia. Monsudar Pub., Original from the University of Michigan. ISBN 999-0-038-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Wj1wAAAAMAAJ&q=History+of+Mongolia&dq=History+of+Mongolia&pgis=1. 
6. ^ Baabar, B.,History of Mongolia, 1999, ISBN 999-0-038-5. pp 197
7. ^ Sanders, ibd p. 26
8. ^ Baabar, B., Ibd. pp 199
9. ^ Sanders, Ibd
10. ^ Babaar, Ibd, pg. 219
11. ^ Ibd, pg. 229-230
12. ^ Ibd, pg 231
13. ^ Ibd
14. ^ Sanders, Ibd. p. 27
15. ^ Ibd. p 49

Preceded by Dambyn Chagdarjav

Prime Minister of Mongolia 1921–1922

Succeeded by Jalkhanz Khutagt Sodnomyn Damdinbazar

Persondata
Name	Bodoo Dogsomyn
Alternative names
Short description	Prime Minister of Mongolia
Date of birth	1895
Place of birth	Mandshir Hutagt, Töv Province, Mongolia
Date of death	August 31, 1922
Place of death	Niislel Khüree