Htin Kyaw Biography

(President of Burma)

Birthday: July 20, 1946 (Cancer)

Born In: Kungyangon Township, Myanmar (Burma)

Htin Kyaw is a Burmese politician who became the President of Myanmar in 2016, the first elected civilian to hold the office since the 1962 coup d'état. He was mentioned as a possible presidential candidate after the 2015 general election in which National League for Democracy (NLD) registered a resounding victory as NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency. Being one of the closest confidantes of Suu Kyi, it is believed that Kyaw is serving as a proxy for her. The son of a prominent scholar, he graduated with an M.Econ. in statistics from the Rangoon Institute of Economics and won a scholarship to the Institute of Computer Science, University of London. He returned to Burma after a course at the Arthur D. Little School of Management in Cambridge and became active in the nation’s politics. Known to Aung San Suu Kyi from a young age, he became one of her closest political allies and is said to have been a link between Suu Kyi and the outside world when she was under house arrest. A much respected NLD stalwart, he closely worked with Suu Kyi at the Office of NLD Chairperson and was sworn in as President of Myanmar on 30 March 2016. **Childhood & Early Life *Htin Kyaw was born on 20 July 1946 in Rangoon, British Burma (now Myanmar), to Min Thu Wun and Kyi Kyi. His father was a prominent poet, writer and scholar who helped launch a new age literary movement called Khit-San. *He graduated from English Methodist High School in 1962 and joined the Rangoon Institute of Economics (then part of the Rangoon Arts and Science University) from where he graduated with an M.Econ. in statistics in 1968. *He worked as a teacher for a while before moving to the Institute of Computer Science, University of London, on a scholarship in 1971. He also attended computer studies in Asia Electronics Union, Tokyo in 1974. *He furthered his education by earning another master's degree in computer science in 1975.
5
Quick Facts

Age: 77 Years, 77 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Su Su Lwin (m. 1973)

father: Min Thu Wun

mother: Kyi Kyi

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Childhood & Early Life
Htin Kyaw was born on 20 July 1946 in Rangoon, British Burma (now Myanmar), to Min Thu Wun and Kyi Kyi. His father was a prominent poet, writer and scholar who helped launch a new age literary movement called Khit-San.
He graduated from English Methodist High School in 1962 and joined the Rangoon Institute of Economics (then part of the Rangoon Arts and Science University) from where he graduated with an M.Econ. in statistics in 1968.
He worked as a teacher for a while before moving to the Institute of Computer Science, University of London, on a scholarship in 1971. He also attended computer studies in Asia Electronics Union, Tokyo in 1974.
He furthered his education by earning another master's degree in computer science in 1975.
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Career
Htin Kyaw returned to Burma and became active in politics. He joined the Ministry of Industry as a Deputy Division Chief in 1975. His political career flourished and he was appointed as a Deputy Director in the Foreign Economic Relations Department, Ministry of Planning and Treasury in 1980. He resigned in 1992.
A long-time associate and friend of Aung San Suu Kyi, he became a founding executive committee member of the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, founded by Suu Kyi and named after her mother Khin Kyi.
Kyaw’s father-in-law was a co-founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD), a democratic socialist and liberal democratic political party. Due to this he had close associations with the party members and advised them on diplomatic affairs and international relations.
When Suu Kyi was under house arrest, he played the role of a loyal ally and visited her regularly, becoming a link between Suu Kyi and the outside world. In 2000, Suu Kyi was freed for a brief period during which she wanted to visit the central Burmese city of Mandalay.
He joined her in her attempted visit but was arrested along with his comrades after a confrontation with an army officer at a railway station. Suu Kyi was again put under house arrest while Htin Kyaw was sent to the infamous Insein Prison. He gained much respect for maintaining a calm and dignified demeanor over the duration of his four-and-a-half months’ imprisonment.
In 2012, he was made a senior executive for Daw Khin Kyi Foundation. His association with Suu Kyi deepened over the years, and even though he was not a veteran member of the NLD, he worked very closely with Suu Kyi at the Office of NLD Chairperson.
In the 2015 general elections, the NLD won a supermajority of seats in the combined national parliament. Despite being the leader of the party, Suu Kyi was constitutionally barred from the presidency as there is a clause that disqualifies presidential candidates from nomination if any of their immediate families are foreign nationals (Suu Kyi was married to a Briton and has two British sons.)
Unable to take up the presidency herself, Suu Kyi nominated her most trusted confidante Htin Kyaw as the presidential candidate. He was sworn in as President of Myanmar on 30 March 2016, becoming the first elected civilian to hold the office since the 1962 coup d'état.
In addition to being a politician he is also a writer who writes under the pen name Dala Ban. He wrote a biographical book about his father ‘Min Thu Wun: The Father’s Life: Glimpses of my Father.’
Personal Life & Legacy
In 1973, Htin Kyaw married Su Su Lwin, the daughter of U Lwin, a co-founder of the NLD. His wife has an MA in English from University of Washington in the United States and is also a politician who has been the incumbent MP for Thongwa Township in the House of Representatives since May 2012. The couple has no children.

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Article Title
- Htin Kyaw Biography
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