• Burmese
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Ashburn
  • 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

Rangoon Chief Minister to be Vice President?

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
May 14, 2012
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Rangoon Chief Minister to be Vice President?

Rangoon Chief Minister Myint Swe (right) cuts a ribbon to open the new European Union Office on April 28 along with Aung San Suu Kyi and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton. (PHOTO: Irrawaddy)

5
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Following the resignation of Burma’s Vice-president Tin Aung Myint Oo, several contenders have been involved in intense horse-trading for the vacant post, say insiders in the capital.

One of the surprise candidates to replace the powerful and notoriously corrupt vice-president was no other than Myint Swe, the chief minister for Rangoon Region.

“He has a clean record, has very good PR skills, and is likable and friendly,” a senior army officer told the Irrawaddy.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

July 14, 2025
864
Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

July 14, 2025
581
TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

July 14, 2025
455

A businessman who personally knows Myint Swe added that the former general has no reputation for corruption, and closely follows political events in Burma and abroad. “However, he usually takes a low-key approach,” he said.

Myint Swe recently attended the opening of the European Union (EU) representative office. He appeared together with EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton and Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in cutting the ribbon for the opening ceremony in the former capital.

A graduate of the 15th intake of the Defense Services Academy (DSA) in 1971, Myint Swe, an ethnic Mon, steadily rose to the rank of army officer commanding Light Infantry Division 11 which oversees security in Rangoon.
He was brought to the War Office in Rangoon to replace ex-Brig-Gen Thein Sein who had been promoted to regional commander in the Triangle Region comprising the Thai-Burmese-Lao border area.

In the late 1990s, Myint Swe then took over Thein Sein’s role as general staff officer, a powerful position in the War Office. He worked directly under Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye.

He was promoted to brigadier-general and commanded the Southeast Region before being called back to Rangoon where he became commander of Rangoon Division. Traditionally, only trusted and competent senior army officers are deemed worthy of the Rangoon command. The young army officer had clearly gained the respect of his superiors Than Shwe and Maung Aye.

Myint Swe next became head of the Bureau of Special Operations 5, a department that also oversees security affairs in the former capital.

Myint Swe carefully executed two high-profile operations in Rangoon: the arrest of Gen Ne Win’s family members in 2002 after an alleged coup conspiracy was uncovered; and in 2004 when he was involved in arresting then-intelligence chief and Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt at the airport in Rangoon.

During the “Saffron Revolution” uprising in 2007, Myint Swe led security operations in Rangoon. His campaign to pacify monks by offering them donations of cash and other items failed.

According to the website of the Bangkok-based NGO ALTSEAN, in April 2008, Lt-Gen Myint Swe described to a meeting of some 600 people, which included senior government officials, the junta’s plans for rigging the May 2008 constitutional referendum. The plan included announcing only the final results from Naypyidaw, rather than local tallies.

Myint Swe was also involved in distributing humanitarian aid to Cyclone Nargis victims in 2008. The ALTSEAN website says: “SPDC distributed aid to cyclone survivors but first plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the cyclone relief effort into a propaganda exercise. State-run television continuously runs images of top generals handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies. One box bore the name of Myint Swe in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: “Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand.”

In 2009, when he was promoted to quartermaster-general of the armed forces and rumors circulated that he was Than Shwe’s choice to become commander-in-chief.

Like Thein Sein, Myint Swe is known to be clean from corruption, approachable, and has gained considerable support and respect in the military. Almost 61, he is more senior than Vice Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing from Intake 19 of DSA, meaning that the current military leaders who are junior to Myint Swe would undoubtedly accept Myint Swe’s appointment, if confirmed.

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
Burma to Host Asean Human Rights Meeting

Burma to Host Asean Human Rights Meeting

China to Enforce Fishing Ban in Disputed Waters

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

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

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

6 days ago
1.3k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

7 days ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    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.