• Burmese
Thursday, July 10, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °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

Weighing Suu Kyi’s Role in a New Political Order

Kyaw Zwa Moe by Kyaw Zwa Moe
March 17, 2016
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Weighing Suu Kyi’s Role in a New Political Order

National League for Democracy party (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi

5.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When the National League for Democracy (NLD) unveiled its plan on Thursday for a reduction in the number of executive branch ministries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ranked at the top of the 21-portfolio roster, in notable contrast to the ministerial protocol of the outgoing government, which placed it below three security ministries at fourth in importance.

Where once was the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs, now sits the Foreign Affairs Ministry atop the protocol hierarchy. The change-up is likely to further fuel speculation that NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi has her eye on the foreign affairs minister post, where she would have an official say on the powerful National Defense and Security Council, in lieu of the presidency that she has been denied.

In light of this, The Irrawaddy republishes a Commentary from Jan. 22, 2016, in which English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe laid out the case for why it is that Suu Kyi might want the position.

RelatedPosts

Renowned Myanmar language teacher John Okell is still inspiring students, five decades on.

Love of the Lingo

August 5, 2020
10.2k
--

‘Secret Garden’ in Wa Special Region Leaves Much to the Imagination

February 27, 2020
8.5k
This Week in Parliament (August 8-12)

This Week in Parliament (August 8-12)

August 13, 2016
3.8k

It’s one of several unanswered questions in what looms as a new era in Burmese politics.

With Aung San Suu Kyi constitutionally barred from assuming the country’s highest office, what formal political position, if any, will the ever popular pro-democracy leader seek when her party takes power in late March?

Undoubtedly, the National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman’s ultimate aim is the presidency. However, Suu Kyi remains ineligible for the position due to Article 59(f) of Burma’s military-drafted 2008 Constitution, which rules out individuals whose parents, children or spouse are foreign citizens.

Suu Kyi’s two children are British nationals, as was her late husband.

There has been speculation that the offending article may be suspended to allow Suu Kyi to assume the role. However, the likelihood of the military agreeing to such a proposition ahead of the impending transition of power appears remote.

With that in mind, some analysts have turned their attention to what official role Suu Kyi, 70, may take on in an NLD-government. The Lower House speaker of Burma’s Parliament was one plausible suggestion.

But that notion seemed off the mark after recent reports the NLD had nominated Win Myint and ethnic Karen Win Khaing Than, both NLD members, as speakers for the Lower and Upper House, respectively—notwithstanding the party’s subsequent refusal to confirm the reported nominations.

Other analysts contend Suu Kyi may remain as party leader, without taking any official position in the Parliament or the executive.

She would certainly still be “The Lady in charge” regardless of her formal political role. The NLD leader has made one point abundantly clear: Whoever officially leads the country, she will rule from “above the president” in the forthcoming government.

However, Suu Kyi may feel that assuming an official position is the best way to drive the government. There are also important points to consider regarding her influence over key decision-making bodies, perhaps most importantly, the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC).

The 11-member body is empowered by the Constitution to devise policy on certain military and security issues, including the right to petition the president to declare a nationwide state of emergency.

The council includes the president, two vice presidents, both Union Parliament speakers, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander of the Burma Armed Forces, and respective heads of the Foreign, Home, Defense and Border affairs ministries—the latter three of whom are military appointed.

A position on the powerful council, of which the military commands a majority (considering one vice president is selected by military lawmakers), will be a key concern of Suu Kyi.

In light of that—and with the presidency currently off-limits—Suu Kyi may opt to assume the role of foreign minister. In that role, whenever the council is held, Suu Kyi would retain a constitutional right to be there, alongside the Burma Army chief and other powerful military figures.

Of course, her “president” would be there too.

The role of foreign minister would not allow the NLD chairwoman to spend as much time on the coalface in Parliament, as she has done since winning a seat in April 2012 by-elections. However, in the new legislative chamber, the NLD will command a powerful majority and both speakers. Suu Kyi may deem it wise to focus her efforts on managing the executive arm of government.

Soon after the November general election, the Washington Post newspaper asked the leader of the victorious party: “When there is a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—or another gathering of heads of state—they are going to want you there. They are not going to want someone else.”

Suu Kyi’s answer was unequivocal: “I’ll go there. I’ll go along with the president, and he can sit beside me.”

To fulfill that vow, The Lady, despite her already distinguished standing around the world, may be aided by formally commanding a ministerial position. The position of foreign minister would seem an ideal choice.

No other person within the NLD is more qualified to grace the stage of international diplomacy and, even if she wasn’t foreign minister, it is Suu Kyi that world leaders will want to meet.

As for the Burmese people, most will be satisfied regardless of the 70-year-old’s official position—as long as she is the lady in charge.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaFrom The Irrawaddy Archive
Kyaw Zwa Moe

Kyaw Zwa Moe

Executive Editor of the Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Inspiring Women of Burma  
Burma

Inspiring Women of Burma  

by The Irrawaddy
March 18, 2016
33.6k

The contributions of some of Burma’s leading female figures are highlighted in the final part of a series that ran...

Read moreDetails
Australian-Karen Actress: ‘I Hope Karen People Will Have the Right to Self-Determination’
Asia

Australian-Karen Actress: ‘I Hope Karen People Will Have the Right to Self-Determination’

by Saw Yan Naing
January 18, 2016
13.7k

Tasneem Roc, an Australian actress who also has ethnic Karen roots, speaks with The Irrawaddy about her career and her...

Read moreDetails
Riding the Death Highway
From the Archive

Riding the Death Highway

by Nyein Nyein
May 15, 2014
13.4k

Frequent accidents and fatalities have given a fearsome reputation to the highly traveled road that runs between Yangon, Naypyitaw and...

Read moreDetails
Burma’s Media Landscape Through the Years
Burma

Burma’s Media Landscape Through the Years

by The Irrawaddy
May 4, 2016
13.5k

In the wake of World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on Tuesday, The Irrawaddy revisits a history of Burmese media stretching...

Read moreDetails
Burmese Director Explores Same-Sex Relationships in New Film
Burma

Burmese Director Explores Same-Sex Relationships in New Film

by Yu Mon Kyaw
January 28, 2016
8.2k

Entitled ‘Gemini,’ Nyo Min Lwin’s film about romance between two men explores ground seldom trod in Burma’s movie industry.

Read moreDetails
Lucky Numbers in the Quest for Peace
Commentary

Lucky Numbers in the Quest for Peace

by Nyein Nyein
September 10, 2015
8.7k

Burmese generals’ edicts have often been intimately tied to numerology and astrology. Is the peace process similarly tied to superstitious...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Victims’ Families Demand Burma Army Punish Alleged Murderer

Victims’ Families Demand Burma Army Punish Alleged Murderer

Vietnam’s Southern Delta Faces Worst Drought in History

Vietnam’s Southern Delta Faces Worst Drought in History

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

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

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

2 days ago
667

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Trains Staff on Electronic Voting Machines Across the Country

    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.