In 1980 he was appointed first deputy minister of state farms and in 1981 he became first secretary of the Selenge Province MPRP Committee.

Before becoming Prime Minister, Gungaadorj was a member of the State Great Khural (parliament) for the constituency 33 in the Selenge Province and an advisor to the President of Mongolia.

In 1992 he was appointed ambassador from Mongolia to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and later to Kazakhstan.

He again became a member of parliament from 2000 to 2004, also serving as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Environment and Rural Development.

He did not stand for parliamentary elections in 2004 and in 2009 acted as an advisor to the Minister of Environment and Tourism.