Overview
Tserendondovyn Navaanneren was the twentieth and last Setsen Khan. He inherited the title in 1910, a year before Mongolia declared independence from the Qing, and served the new Bogd Khan state as Minister of Justice. After the revolution of 1921 he remained Setsen Khan until the aimag was abolished, then returned to monastic life, served the new state as a minister, and died in 1937 during the Stalinist purges.
Rise to Power
Born in 1877 in the Setsen Khan aimag, Navaanneren was the eldest son of Tserendondov, a descendant of the earlier Setsen Khan Artased. He became Setsen Khan in 1910, when Demchigdorj died without a son.
Rule and Achievements
- Inherited the Setsen Khan title in 1910 and took it into the independent Bogd Khaganate after 1911
- Received the title Mahasamadi Dalai Setsen Khan from the Bogd Khan and served as Minister of Justice
- Remained Setsen Khan through the constitutional monarchy that followed the 1921 revolution, until the aimag was renamed Khan Khentii Uulyn aimag in 1923
- Returned to monastic life in 1922 under the name Yundenbazar, later served as Minister of the Interior, and died in 1937 during the purges
Legacy
Navaanneren's life spans the end of the old order. He was born a Qing prince, became a minister of an independent Mongolian monarchy, outlived the khan title itself, and died in the purges of the state that replaced it. His career shows a hereditary leader adapting to every new system, until a system arrived that had no place for him.