• Burmese
Sunday, July 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Amid Transition, Burma’s Senior General Emerges From the Shadows

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
February 25, 2016
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Amid Transition

Burma Army commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing arrives to give a speech during peace talks between the government

3.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Like many of his generation, the head of Burma’s powerful military is a recent but enthusiastic convert to Facebook. On his profile background picture, the commander-in-chief gives a “thumbs up” from the cockpit of an airplane. Posts show him celebrating new year in a traditional boar tusk headdress and visiting wounded soldiers.

It’s a far cry from just a few years ago, when the only glimpse into the work of the military top command came in turgid reports from state media, and offers a daily reminder that the changes sweeping the Southeast Asian nation have reached even the secretive generals who ruled for almost 50 years until 2011.

As he cements his position as de facto No. 2 on Burma’s post-election political scene, Sr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has transformed himself from taciturn soldier into a politician, public figure and statesman, say diplomats in Rangoon.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Kill 25 on Friday

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Kill 25 on Friday

July 12, 2025
386
Parading Comedians and Machines for Election Circus; Rousing the Military Vote; and More

Parading Comedians and Machines for Election Circus; Rousing the Military Vote; and More

July 12, 2025
366
Anti-Coup Icon Explains Urgent Call for NUG Reform

Anti-Coup Icon Explains Urgent Call for NUG Reform

July 11, 2025
291

“It was like speaking to a politician,” said one senior Western diplomat of a recent meeting. “Not a soldier.”

People who know him say he is keen to show the army—still loathed by many after decades of iron-fisted junta-rule—is a positive force in the transition to democracy, but also that he is in no hurry for the military to step back from politics.

Until Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a resounding victory in the first nationwide democratic election for 25 years in November, Min Aung Hlaing had never had a one-on-one meeting with the Nobel peace laureate.

Since then, they have met at least three times as the historic foes of the army and NLD try to reach agreement on how they will work together once a drawn-out power transition is completed at the end of March.

Min Aung Hlaing has shown no sign he is prepared to give up the 25 percent of seats in parliament reserved for unelected soldiers, nor of allowing a change to the junta-drafted constitution that bars Suu Kyi from becoming president.

“The time is not ripe yet. It is still early,” he said when pressed on when the military would return to barracks, according to the transcript of an interview with the Washington Post uploaded to his Facebook page shortly after the election.

“The best time may come when there is total peace and stability in the country.”

‘No Arab Spring Failure’

Under the constitution, the commander-in-chief, not the civilian president, appoints the heads of the home, defense and border security ministries, giving the military control of Burma’s civil service and security apparatus.

With media reports that Min Aung Hlaing’s term will be extended by five years, he will be the second most powerful figure in government, after Suu Kyi, for the duration of the NLD’s term.

The military’s reluctance to step back from politics completely, despite the overwhelming popular vote for the NLD, has been criticized by Western nations and human rights groups, who also accuse it of continuing abuses.

Burma’s generals say they have a duty to hold together a country fractured by ethnic conflicts until they deem its democracy is stable and durable.

Min Aung Hlaing has studied other political transitions, and makes much of the need to avoid the chaos seen in Libya and other Middle Eastern countries after regime change in 2011.

Brazil’s Ambassador to Burma, Alcides Prates, said the commander-in-chief told him at a meeting in the capital, Naypyidaw, in January: “We are not going to let Myanmar become an Arab Spring failure.”

Min Aung Hlaing did not respond to an interview request from Reuters.

Slow But Steady Rise

Min Aung Hlaing steered clear of the political activism that was then widespread while studying law at Rangoon University from 1972-1974, according to a retired senior law officer who was a contemporary.

“He was a man of few words and normally kept a low profile,” the classmate said.

While fellow students joined demonstrations, he made annual applications to join the country’s premier military university, the Defense Services Academy (DSA), succeeding at his third attempt in 1974.

According to a member of his DSA class, who spoke on condition of anonymity, he was an average cadet.

“[He was] not an outstanding student. Not a driven person, [but] not a lazy person,” said the classmate, who still sees Min Aung Hlaing at the intake’s annual reunion dinner.

“He was promoted regularly and slowly,” added the classmate, who said he had been surprised he had risen beyond the officer corps’ middle ranks.

A key goal of Min Aung Hlaing has been improving the image of the military, said Maung Aung Myoe, author of “Building the Tatmadaw: Myanmar Armed Forces Since 1948,” who says he wants the military to be seen as “the sons and daughters of the people”.

The Senior General’s Facebook page, launched in 2013, has become his main tool for interacting with the media and public, amassing more than 450,000 “likes,” with near daily posts detailing his activities and meetings with visiting dignitaries.

“He understands the military, for the last few years, has had a negative view and a bad reputation,” said Maung Aung Myoe. “And he has tried to improve it a lot.”

Your Thoughts …
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.9k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
New Wave of Burmese Hackers Behind Thai Website Attacks

New Wave of Burmese Hackers Behind Thai Website Attacks

Behind the Lines: Shan Soldiers on Patrol in Kyaukme

Behind the Lines: Shan Soldiers on Patrol in Kyaukme

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

4 days ago
1.1k
Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

4 days ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Kill 25 on Friday

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Parading Comedians and Machines for Election Circus; Rousing the Military Vote; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.