Ögedei was considered to be his father's favorite son, ever since his childhood.
As an adult, he was known for his ability to sway doubters in any debate in which he was involved, simply by the force of his personality.
He was a physically big, jovial, and charismatic man, who seemed mostly to be interested in enjoying good times.
He was intelligent and steady in character.
His charisma was partially credited for his success in keeping the Mongol Empire on the path that his father had set.

The sudden death of Tolui in 1232 seems to have affected Ögedei deeply.
According to some sources, Tolui sacrificed his own life, accepting a poisoned drink in shamanist ritual in order to save Ögedei who was suffering from illness.
Other sources say Ögedei orchestrated Tolui's death with the help of shamans who drugged the alcoholic Tolui.

Ögedei was well known for his alcoholism.
Chagatai entrusted an official to watch his habit, but Ögedei managed to drink anyway.
 It is commonly told that Ögedei did so by vowing to reduce the number of cups he drank a day then having cups twice the size created for his personal use.
When he died at dawn on 11 December 1241, after a late-night drinking bout with Abd-ur-Rahman, the people blamed the sister of Tolui's widow and Abd-ur-Rahman.
The Mongol aristocrats recognized, however, that the Khagan's own lack of self-control had killed him.

Ögedei was also known to be a humble man, who did not believe himself to be a genius, and who was willing to listen to and use the great generals that his father left him, as well as those he himself found to be most capable.
He was the Emperor (Khagan) but not a dictator.
Like all Mongols at his time, he was raised and educated as a warrior from childhood, and as the son of Genghis Khan, he was a part of his father's plan to establish a world empire.
His military experience was notable for his willingness to listen to his generals and adapt to circumstances.
He was a pragmatic person, much like his father, and looked at the end rather than the means.
His steadiness of character and dependability were the traits that his father most valued, and that gained him the role of successor to his father, despite his two older brothers.

However, Mongol and Persian chroniclers criticize Ögedei for a crime he committed in 1237 which violated the laws of his father, Genghis Khan, which forbade seizure, rape, kidnapping, bartering, or selling young girls, who were allowed to be married at a young age but could not engage in sexual activity until the age of sixteen.
Mongol chronicles were vague about the nature of the crime, but Persian chroniclers indicated that after the Oirat did not send girls for Ögedei's harem, Ögedei had four thousand Oirat girls above the age of seven stripped naked and raped by his soldiers repeatedly in full sight of the girls' relatives.
Two of these girls died from the ordeal, and the remaining non-raped were divided up by soldiers, with some being sent to the royal harem, and others assigned to caravan hostels for sexual servitude, and others not deemed suitable for this were left present for anyone to carry them away or use them for any purposes deemed fit.
Ögedei seems not to have done this out of sexual depravity as such, but more to consolidate power over the Oirat.

The above account, including the assumption that Mongol sources criticized the crime (still questionable), was described in Jack Weatherford's 2011 book The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire.
Weatherford calls it "the most horrendous crime of his twelve-year reign and one of the worst Mongol atrocities recorded".
A more recent book in Mongol historiography "Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire" (2018) by Anne F. Broadbridge links the "infamous alleged mass rape of Oirat girls" to Ögedei's requisitioning of girls from his uncle Temüge Otchigin's territories without Temüge's approval.
Broadbridge notes however that "with all the evidence suppressed, this can only be a surmise".
The History of the Yuan or Yuanshi (YS 2, 35)
Ögedei was considered to be his father's favorite son, ever since his childhood. As an adult, he was known for his ability to sway doubters in any debate in which he was involved, simply by the force of his personality. He was a physically big, jovial, and charismatic man, who seemed mostly to be interested in enjoying good times. He was intelligent and steady in character. His charisma was partially credited for his success in keeping the Mongol Empire on the path that his father had set.
The sudden death of Tolui in 1232 seems to have affected Ögedei deeply. According to some sources, Tolui sacrificed his own life, accepting a poisoned drink in shamanist ritual in order to save Ögedei who was suffering from illness. Other sources say Ögedei orchestrated Tolui's death with the help of shamans who drugged the alcoholic Tolui.
Ögedei was well known for his alcoholism. Chagatai entrusted an official to watch his habit, but Ögedei managed to drink anyway.  It is commonly told that Ögedei did so by vowing to reduce the number of cups he drank a day then having cups twice the size created for his personal use. When he died at dawn on 11 December 1241, after a late-night drinking bout with Abd-ur-Rahman, the people blamed the sister of Tolui's widow and Abd-ur-Rahman. The Mongol aristocrats recognized, however, that the Khagan's own lack of self-control had killed him.
Ögedei was also known to be a humble man, who did not believe himself to be a genius, and who was willing to listen to and use the great generals that his father left him, as well as those he himself found to be most capable. He was the Emperor (Khagan) but not a dictator. Like all Mongols at his time, he was raised and educated as a warrior from childhood, and as the son of Genghis Khan, he was a part of his father's plan to establish a world empire. His military experience was notable for his willingness to listen to his generals and adapt to circumstances. He was a pragmatic person, much like his father, and looked at the end rather than the means. His steadiness of character and dependability were the traits that his father most valued, and that gained him the role of successor to his father, despite his two older brothers.
However, Mongol and Persian chroniclers criticize Ögedei for a crime he committed in 1237 which violated the laws of his father, Genghis Khan, which forbade seizure, rape, kidnapping, bartering, or selling young girls, who were allowed to be married at a young age but could not engage in sexual activity until the age of sixteen. Mongol chronicles were vague about the nature of the crime, but Persian chroniclers indicated that after the Oirat did not send girls for Ögedei's harem, Ögedei had four thousand Oirat girls above the age of seven stripped naked and raped by his soldiers repeatedly in full sight of the girls' relatives. Two of these girls died from the ordeal, and the remaining non-raped were divided up by soldiers, with some being sent to the royal harem, and others assigned to caravan hostels for sexual servitude, and others not deemed suitable for this were left present for anyone to carry them away or use them for any purposes deemed fit. Ögedei seems not to have done this out of sexual depravity as such, but more to consolidate power over the Oirat.
The above account, including the assumption that Mongol sources criticized the crime (still questionable), was described in Jack Weatherford's 2011 book The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire. Weatherford calls it "the most horrendous crime of his twelve-year reign and one of the worst Mongol atrocities recorded". A more recent book in Mongol historiography "Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire" (2018) by Anne F. Broadbridge links the "infamous alleged mass rape of Oirat girls" to Ögedei's requisitioning of girls from his uncle Temüge Otchigin's territories without Temüge's approval. Broadbridge notes however that "with all the evidence suppressed, this can only be a surmise". The History of the Yuan or Yuanshi (YS 2, 35)
Ögedei Khan