Win Myint
Win Myint is a notable political figure and lawyer from Myanmar, who served as the country's president from March 2018 until his removal in February 2021 due to a military coup. Born on November 8, 1951, in the Ayeyarwady Region, he pursued higher education in geology and law, eventually becoming a prominent advocate within the Myanmar legal system. Win Myint was actively involved in pro-democracy movements in the late 1980s, which led to his imprisonment during a period of military rule. As a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), he rose through the political ranks, aligning closely with the party's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
His presidency was largely ceremonial, as real power remained with Suu Kyi, who could not legally hold the presidency herself. His administration faced significant challenges, including widespread allegations of human rights abuses, particularly against the Rohingya Muslim population, which escalated during and after his term. Following the coup, Win Myint was detained along with other NLD leaders and was later sentenced to prison on charges related to election fraud. His story reflects the ongoing struggles for democracy and human rights in Myanmar, making him a significant figure in the country's contemporary political landscape.
Subject Terms
Win Myint
Former president of Myanmar
- Born: November 8, 1951
- Place of Birth: Danubyu Township, Burma (now also known as Myanmar)
Education: Rangoon Arts and Sciences University (now University of Yangon)
Significance: A member of the National League for Democracy, Win Myint is a lawyer and former activist who was jailed in the 1980s and 1990s. The parliament of Myanmar elected him the president of the nation in 2018. Three years later, in early 2021, he was removed from office by a military coup.
Background
Former president of Myanmar. Win Myint was born on November 8, 1951, possibly in Nyaung Chaung (or Nyaungbinchaung) Village, in Danubyu (Danuphyu) Township, Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) Region in north-central Burma. The youngest of four children born to Tun Kyin and Daw Than, he attended Nyaung Chaung Basic Education Primary School and Danubyu Basic Education High School, where he played football (soccer). He then studied at the Rangoon Arts and Sciences University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in geology in 1974.
Win Myint later studied law and passed the Higher-Grade Pleader exam in 1981 and began working as a higher-grade pleader, or lawyer allowed to practice in all but the highest court. He was a senior lawyer at the Supreme Court of Ayeyarwady in Danubyu and Pathein and also practiced law at the Constitutional Court. After passing the Registered Lawyer exam in 1985, he became a High Court advocate.
Political Career
Win Myint participated in and was briefly imprisoned following the 1988 pro-democracy protests that resulted in the collapse of the government and a military takeover. The movement led to the formation of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which he joined, and the emergence of Aung San Suu Kyi as the party’s leader.
After his release from prison, Win Myint decided to pursue politics rather than law. He successfully ran for a seat in parliament as NDL’s candidate for Danubyu Township in 1990. The military government, however, prevented him—and all other successful NDL candidates—from taking their seats in parliament and invalidated the election results. He was once again imprisoned. While he was detained in the Bago Region, military officials offered to release him so he could visit his gravely ill son in exchange for his signed promise to end his involvement in politics. He refused and missed seeing his son before he died and attending his funeral.
Win Myint remained active in politics and joined the NLD Information Committee in Danubyu Township. In 2010, he became a member of the NLD Central Executive Committee. He once again ran for parliament in 2012 as a representative of Pathein Township and won a seat in Pyithu Hluttaw, the House of Representatives’ lower house. In the 2015 general election, he defeated the ruling party’s incumbent to take a seat representing Tammwe (Tarmwe) Township. This increased his stature in the NLD, and he became a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The NLD had a landslide victory in the 2015 election. This gave Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD, immense power, but she was barred from running for president as Myanmar’s constitution prohibits anyone whose spouse or children are foreign nationals from holding that position, and she had two sons with her British spouse. Thus, the NLD chose a candidate, Htin Kyaw, who was a close confidante of Suu Kyi, to serve as a proxy for her to lead the country, and parliament elected him president. Shortly after Htin Kyaw took office in March 2016, he signed into law a bill that created the position of state counselor, which had power over the president, and Suu Kyi was named to fill the position, making her the true leader of the country.
In February 2016, Win Myint was elected speaker of the lower house. He resigned from this position in March 2018, immediately after Htin Kyaw announced his resignation as president. This allowed Win Myint to be a presidential candidate. He competed against two other candidates and, on March 28, 2018, was elected president by parliament, receiving 403 out of 636 votes. He was sworn into office on March 30, 2018. In February 2021, Win Myint was abruptly removed from office and detained, along with fellow leaders of the NLD, by a military coup d'état. The coup was widely condemned by human rights groups and Western leaders and was seen as a huge blow to the country's efforts at establishing democracy. Pro-democracy protests broke out across Myanmar in opposition to the coup, and hundreds of protesters were killed by military forces.
In 2021, Win Myint, along with Aung San Suu Kyi and Min Thu, was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor by a Myanmar military council that alleged the group had committed election fraud. Win Myint was also facing corruption charges that looked to add years to his prison sentence.
Impact
Win Myint’s role as president was primarily ceremonial, with Suu Kyi retaining the true power as leader of Myanmar and de facto president. In his inaugural address, Win Myint announced his priorities, including his pledge to amend the military-crafted constitution and develop the media sector, all goals aligned with Suu Kyi’s positions. He did not address several of the most pressing issues facing the country, such as alleged human rights abuses against journalists and the ethnic cleansing and military massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. At the time Win Myint ascended to the presidency, about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims had fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh to escape persecution, killings, sexual violence, and other human rights abuses by Myanmar security forces.
In August 2018, the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed Myanmar’s military had engaged in ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims through mass executions and gang rapes. Win Myint rejected the ruling, stating the ICC had no jurisdiction over Myanmar. He distanced the government from it, claiming a United Nations fact-founding report was based on emotionally charged personal tragedies rather than legal merit, which reaffirmed the prior government’s position that the military’s actions were a response to militants or terrorists rather than government repression or ethnic cleansing. Concerns about the fate of Rohingya refugees increased following the coup in 2021. In 2024, Myint was transferred to house arrest following a heat wave.
Personal Life
Win Myint is married to Cho Cho, whom he met while in the fifth standard in Pathein. They have a daughter, Phyu Phyu Thin; their son died when he was sixteen.
Bibliography
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“Myanmar Junta Sentences Ousted Leaders Suu Kyi, Win Myint to Three More Years in Prison.” Myanmar Now, 2 Sept. 2022, myanmar-now.org/en/news/myanmar-junta-sentences-ousted-leaders-suu-kyi-win-myint-to-three-more-years-in-prison/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Nang, Saw, and Richard C. Paddock. “Myanmar Picks a New President, But He’ll Still Be No. 2.” The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2018, HYPERLINK "http://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/world/asia/myanmar-president-u-win-myint.html" www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/world/asia/myanmar-president-u-win-myint.html. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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