Sonomyn Udval

Who is Sonomyn Udval?

Sonomyn Udval was a Mongolian women's leader, politician and writer. She was born in Dashinchilen sum of Bulgan Province on 21 February 1921. She worked as the chairwoman of the Central Council of the Mongolian Trade Union in 1956-1958; the first secretary and then the chair of the Mongolian Writers' Union, the chairwoman and president of the Mongolian Women's Committee in 1973-1982 and the deputy chairwoman of the Committee of Veterans of Revolutionary Struggle. Udwal was elected as the deputy of the People's Great Khural in various constituencies between 1951-1986. In 1966 she joined the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party's Central Committee and left it in 1990.

As a writer, Udwal penned novels such as Odgerel, The First Thirteen, Khatanbaatar, Tuuž ögüüllėg Magsarjav, and Great Destiny, and numerous short stories. Her works have been translated into several languages. Described as a "prominent short story writer", she was awarded with the Joliot-Curie Gold Medal of Peace of the World Council of Peace in 1965 and the Afro-Asian Lotus Prize for Literature in 1971. She noted in 1967 that Soviet literature played an important role in the development of Mongolian literature.