Mongolia is a vast, sparsely populated, mineral-rich nation sandwiched between Russia and China. Formerly a Soviet satellite state, the country peacefully ended one-party Communist rule and launched democratic and free market reforms in 1990. Congress has shown strong support for Mongolia since that date through funding of assistance programs, approval for the transfer of excess defense articles, ratification of a bilateral investment treaty, extension of permanent normal trade relations, and House, Senate, and concurrent resolutions commending Mongolia on its development of democracy and expressing support for expanded U.S.-Mongolia relations. (See Appendix A for a list of significant legislation related to Mongolia from the 102 nd Congress to the present.) Mongolia's is one of 16 parliaments worldwide that have been partnered with the U.S. House Democracy Partnership, a bipartisan, 20-member commission of the U.S. House of Representatives that has worked to support the development of "effective, independent, and responsive legislative institutions." U.S. interests in Mongolia include what a 2011 U.S.-Mongolia Joint Statement refers to as "common values and shared strategic interests." Most prominent is the two nations' "common interest in protecting and promoting freedom, democracy and human rights worldwide." Mongolia is the only formerly Communist Asian nation to have transitioned to democracy, and regards itself as a potential role model for the nations of Central Asia, and even China and North Korea, as well as for nations in other regions of the world attempting democratic transitions. In a statement issued after Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj's re-election in 2013, President Obama stated that, "Through its impressive democratic achievements and its progress on economic liberalization, Mongolia serves as a significant example of positive reform and transformation for peoples around the world." As Mongolia begins to approve deals for development of its so far largely untapped mineral wealth, estimated to be worth as much as $1.3 trillion, the United States has an interest in strengthening the investment climate for U.S. businesses in Mongolia. The United States also has an interest in many aspects of Mongolia's engagement with the broader international community. Mongolia has contributed troops to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to global United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. It has supported U.S. positions in international organizations such as the United Nations, and embraced international democracy promotion initiatives. Uranium-rich Mongolia also has taken a strong stance in support of nuclear non-proliferation. As a nation with diplomatic relations with both North and South Korea, Mongolia has sought to support peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. With a majority Tibetan Buddhist population and close ties to Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, Mongolia also has a strong interest in Tibet's future. For nearly 70 years, Mongolia was a one-party state ruled by the communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). Mongolia's democratic revolution began with Eastern Europe-inspired street protests in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, in December 1989. The MPRP's Politburo chose to resign en masse in March 1990. Since then, Mongolia has made a rapid transition from one-party Communist rule to multi-party parliamentary democracy. In May 1990, constitutional amendments ended the MPRP's monopoly on power and created an indirectly-elected presidency. In 1992, a new democratic constitution guaranteed a broad set of rights and freedoms, created a directly-elected presidency, and established a multi-party, directly-elected, unicameral legislature, the State Great Hural (SGH). Since then, Mongolia has held six direct presidential elections and six direct parliamentary elections. (See Appendix B for the results of all ten elections.) Mongolia's revised "National Security Concept," passed by the Mongolian parliament in 2010, reaffirmed Mongolia's commitment to democracy, stating that, "Parliamentary governance built on respect for human rights and freedoms, the rule of law, as well as a democratic state structure built on social stability shall be the pre-eminent guarantee for the assurance of national security." Congress has passed resolutions congratulating Mongolia on a series of largely free and fair elections, and the State Department said that in 2013, Mongolia "generally respected" freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association. Mongolia's democratic development remains a work in progress. In its report on human rights practices in Mongolia in 2013, the State Department highlighted as serious human rights problems facing Mongolia: "police abuse of detainees, widespread corruption, and a lack of transparency in government affairs." According to the report, "Ample documentation establishes both that corruption was widespread and that the perception and reality of corruption were serious drags on democratic and economic development." Such issues are a concern to those who see a strong Mongolian democracy as vital to keeping Mongolia a neutral, sovereign country that is able to stand up for its interests in the face of its powerful neighbors, China and Russia. (For more information about Mongolia's efforts to increase government transparency, see " U.S.-Mongolia Transparency Agreement " and " Participation in International Democracy Promotion " below.) In a USAID-supported survey of the Mongolian business community in May 2013, 69.1% of respondents said that they "always" or "often" encountered corruption in public sector tenders and contracting, and 62.4% of respondents said they believed that steps taken by the government to control corruption were "hardly effective" or "not at all effective." The report warned that private sector corruption "makes Mongolia vulnerable to bad governance and chronic income inequality among citizens." Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2013 ranked Mongolia 83 rd of 177 countries in the index, with the top ranked country (Denmark) being the least corrupt. Mongolia shared its ranking with seven other nations: Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Jamaica, Liberia, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zambia. Other concerns raised in the State Department report include, "arbitrary arrests; poor conditions in detention centers; government interference with the media; religious discrimination (including continued refusal by some provincial governments to register Christian churches); denial of exit visas and immigration holds on foreign citizens; inadequate measures to counter domestic violence against women; trafficking in persons; discrimination against persons with disabilities; and violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons." In April 2012, Mongolia's Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) arrested former President Nambaryn Enkhbayar and charged him with corruption and fraud. Enkhbayar, who served as President from 2005 to 2009, as speaker of the parliament from 2004-2005, and as Prime Minister from 2000-2004, remains the most high-profile figure in Mongolia ever to be charged with corruption. His case ignited impassioned debate in Mongolia. Some saw it as an object lesson in the difficulty of holding a politically powerful and internationally-connected figure to account. Others saw it as a politically-driven vendetta that brought into question Mongolia's commitment to human rights and the rule of law. Immediately after the former President's arrest, his supporters denounced the charges as politically motivated. His son, a United States-educated banker, described the government's treatment of his father as "a purge" and alleged that the government sought "to keep him away from the election and remove him from politics." Enkhbayar was then, and remains today, head of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), a breakaway party formed in 2011after the original MPRP changed its name to the Mongolian People's Party. Enkhbayar's arrest came two months before parliamentary elections and it made him ineligible to run for office. Had Enkhbayar been able to stand and had he won a seat, he would have gained parliamentary immunity. The IAAC stated that it had sought to question Enkhbayar for months and arrested him only after he repeatedly ignored its summonses. Enkhbayar was convicted at his first trial in August 2012 and sentenced to four years in prison. On appeal before the Supreme Court in December 2012, he was again convicted and this time sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. Throughout the process, his supporters alleged a variety of official abuses, from denial of adequate medical care, to denial of access to family and legal counsel, to judicial bias and procedural problems. Influential figures in the international community, including UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon, expressed concern about the government's treatment of the former President. In its 2012 report on human rights practices in Mongolia, however, the State Department stated that, "Observers of the four postponement hearings and trials, which were televised and open to the public, generally found the process in compliance with law." With Enkhbayar reportedly in ill health, President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj issued a terse decree on August 1, 2013 pardoning him and ordering him released from the remainder of his sentence. Canadian Mongolia expert Julian Dierkes explained the pardon as a move that "deflects accusations against Elbegdorj and the DP [Democratic Party] that they are partisan in their pursuit of anti-corruption measures and makes the president look more like a head of state above the political fray." Enkhbayar subsequently traveled to South Korea for medical treatment, where he remains today. He has been reported to be planning a political comeback. In August 2014, however, the Mongolian Police reportedly initiated a new criminal fraud investigation against the former President related to his 2011 purchase of a headquarters building for his political party. Presidential elections are held every four years, with the next presidential election scheduled for 2017.