Address by the President of Mongolia at the awards ceremony of the Order of Chinggis Khaan:

"Fellow Mongolians, descendants of the homeland of the Great Mongol Empire,

Fellow Mongol brothers and sisters in every corner of the world,

Distinguished guests,

Allow me to extend my sincere felicitations on this joyous occasion of “National Pride Day” celebrating the 860th birth anniversary of the Man of the Millennium, the great military general, the king of kings, the Great Chinggis Khaan, whose deeds have laid the foundation of the modern-day world.

Great Chinggis Khaan is a symbol of unity and an assurance of Mongolia’s sovereignty: the spiritual golden thread of the past, the present, and the future of Mongols.

Chinggis Khaan united all Mongol tribes, established the Great Mongol Empire, bound and transcended the historical and traditional way of golden Mongol rule, and left a lasting imprint in our history whose extraordinary deeds will be forever remembered for generations to come.

The history of Chinggis Khaan is not only the history of Mongols, but it is also the history of the world.

Great Khaan and his successors stopped raging wars and conflicts among many states of Europe and Asia that plunged the vast terrains of Eurasia. “Pax Mongolica” allowed to strengthen of relations and unity among countries and people and enabled favorable conditions not only for societies to prosper and develop but also to advance their philosophies, religion, culture and arts, sciences, and trade in peaceful coexistence.

The wisdom and deeds of the Great Khaan made a lasting impact on the advancement and development of the world, who made a significant contribution to the foundation of the modern-day world and is remembered for centuries in the history of mankind.

The Great Khaan’s teachings through his great deeds and his life story on the values of Mongol unity have left a legacy for generations to be remembered for eternity.

Thus, it is imperative for us to continue to follow our Great Khaan’s teachings and wisdom, for it is our sacred duty to continue to study and promote the great history and inherent legacy to maintain the homeland of the Great Mongol Empire ever vigilant.

It is, therefore, a great tradition for the President of Mongolia to award the Supreme Decoration of the Mongolian State, the Order of Chinggis Khaan to citizens, bands, legal entities, foreign citizens, public and social servants, whose extraordinary deeds made a huge contribution in fulfilling this legacy.

This year, it is my honor and privilege to award Dr. Jack Weatherford, an American researcher, and Dr. Dorjgotov Dechingungaa with the Order of Chinggis Khaan, who have made a tremendous contribution, one for promoting the history of Mongols in a scientific and evidence-based way to the world and another for making a significant contribution to the environmental and climate studies of the soil and lands bequeathed by the Great Khaan to Mongolian people.

Professor Jack Weatherford is an internationally distinguished scholar and a researcher from the United States of America, who has published dozens of books and publications on the political history of the United States, the history and culture of Mongolia along with the history of Chinggis Khaan and Great Mongol Empire.

In 2004, Dr. Weatherford published “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World”, becoming the New York Times bestselling author, whose book has been sold over 300,000 copies and printed into over twenty languages.

His work corrects many of the distorted misconceptions about Chinggis Khaan in the world history and proclaimed Chinggis Khaan as the great Khaan who laid the foundations for the modern-day free and open trade, exchange of knowledge and know-how, international law, diplomatic immunity, religious freedom, political system free of church and religion.

Dr. Weatherford’s book “The Secret History of Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire” published in 2010, had made a valuable contribution to popularize the fact that Mongol queens and women have played a significant role and left a clear mark with their actions and wisdom in the history for centuries. While his book “Genghis Khan and the Quest for God” published in 2016, also narrates Chinggis Khaan’s value of freedom of religion, which had been introduced for the first time in the history of mankind, and how other world leaders have learned and followed Great Khaan’s example of progressive and democratic values.

Since 1998, he visited Mongolia on multiple occasions, organized more than 40 field research projects and expeditions, traveled to the historical places of the Secret History of the Mongols, cooperated with Mongolian academics, and made an important contribution to Genghis Khan studies and Mongolian studies.

Moreover, in 2010, the "Jack Weatherford Foundation" was established to support young Mongolian researchers, to correct distorted historical notions, and to spread the knowledge about Mongolian history. The foundation has done many important works in the field of Mongolian studies and grants the "Jack Weatherford Award".

Your works reviewing and evaluating the role of Chinggis Khaan, his successors, and Mongolian queens in the history of the world have re-introduced the concept about Mongolians to the modern world, increased the international value of Chinggis Khaan and the Mongolian nation, promoted Mongolian history and culture to the world and play a special role in the development of Chinggis Khaan studies and Mongolian studies. I express our gratitude to you and wish you the best of luck in your future academic endeavors.

Academician D. Dorjgotov is our famous soil scientist-agrochemical scientist, and he developed basic theoretical research on the origin, geography, classification, characteristics, fertility, and quality assessment of soil in Mongolia, and laid the foundation of soil science in Mongolia.

He worked exclusively on soil mapping, which is important for applying the results of basic soil research, and in 1975 he created and published the first soil map of Mongolia, and also created the first soil map based on satellite photography, depicting the soil typology, spatial structure, and distribution.

His research is rightfully appraised as a rare and valuable work of cartography as it made it possible to estimate all types of soil resources in our country.

Furthermore, academician D. Dorjgotov since 1984 participated and organized the work of the team of scientists and researchers who have created the first "National Atlas of Mongolia”. In 1990, he printed the first national atlas in Russian and Mongolian languages called "National Atlas of the Mongolian People's Republic", including about 300 maps and diagrams divided into 16 thematic groups. In 2009 and 2022, he led the republishing of the "National Atlas of Mongolia".

This "National Atlas of Mongolia" contains comprehensive information on the territory, administrative structure, natural-geographical conditions, natural resources, population, history, culture, agriculture, and social and economic aspects of our country. It is highly valued by professional scientists at the international level as it has become a comprehensive cartographic work of invaluable importance for research, knowledge, theory, and practice.

Moreover, he published his major works such as "Map and Atlas of the Mongolian Ecosystem" in 1995 and 2005, "Ecological Atlas of the Baikal Lake Basin" in 2015, and "Atlas of the Ecosystem of Mongolia" in 2019. It was a significant innovative step in the development of ecology, eco-geochemistry, ecosystem and environmental science, and the introduction of the results of research and development work.

Also, the research team led by academician D.Dorjgotov exclusively studied the modern issues of environmental pollution, climate, ecosystem change, and ecological-geochemical state. His team performed many important tasks and developed recommendations for technological solutions such as "Ulaanbaatar City Environment and Pollution Overview" in 1999, "Survey of soil pollution around drinking water sources in Ulaanbaatar" in 2004, "Geoecological study of Darkhan area" in 2009, "Survey of soil pollution around Ulaanbaatar city" in 2010, "Environmental and ecogeochemical research of major mining and industrial centers in the Seleng Basin" in 2015, and, the "State Standard for Maximum Permissible Amount of Soil Pollutants" in 2008.

Academician D. Dorjgotov worked diligently to prepare the succession of advanced specialized research scientists and to educate young students. During his 20 years of working as a professor and head of the department at the Mongolian State University and the Mongolian State University of Education he supervised the academic work of 20 doctors and 4 doctors of science.

Dear academician D. Dorjgotov, I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for devoting sixty years of your life to soil science, geography, cartography, and environmental studies and for your valuable contribution to the development of science in Mongolia. I wish you the best of luck in your academic endeavors.

Dear Honorable scientists and sages receiving the Supreme Decoration of the Mongolian State, the Order of Chinggis Khaan, the Mongolian government pays you great respect and perpetuates your great academic works and deeds.

Under the power of the eternal sky may the power and glory of the Great Khaan bless us Mongolians forever!"