RANGOON — Two senior Burma Army officials have been freshly appointed as Union ministers, the President’s Office announced on Monday, the latest reassignment in the wake of a major political reshuffle leading up to a general election to be held on Nov. 8.
Gen. Sein Win takes the role of Minister of Defense while Gen. Kyaw Swe has become the new Minister of Border Affairs by order of President Thein Sein, according to the announcement.
Eight colonels have also been appointed to posts within the Ministry of Border Affairs in Chin, Kachin, Mon and Shan states as well as in Mandalay, Pegu, Rangoon and Sagaing divisions.
In tandem with a recent purge of the leadership of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a number of senior positions have been reassigned as ministers vacated their positions to contest the forthcoming election.
A total of 159 military officials recently applied to the USDP as candidates, with 59 them gaining the nomination. Among those to win the party nod was Gen. Soe Win, former head of peace negotiations between the government and Burma’s ethnic armed groups.
