Former Lieutenant-General Myint Swe is known for holding high positions under the previous military regime. However, since the 2021 coup, he has become a puppet of junta boss Min Aung Hlaing, serving as acting president in the current regime.
As a trusted general of former military dictator Than Shwe, Myint Swe served as chief of Yangon Command and Yangon Region chief minister, before becoming the military-nominated vice-president in the now ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government.
So, it is hard to believe that the man who has served in enviable positions throughout his military career and currently holds the country’s highest rank should now be engulfed in a state of doom and gloom.
Myanmar military generals’ traditional obsession with rank and seniority appears to be consuming Myint Swe.
Part of the Defense Services Academy (DSA) 15th intake, Myint Swe outranks any general in the Myanmar military as well as incumbent and ex-generals serving in the current regime – including junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, a graduate of the DSA’s 19th intake.
According to Myanmar government protocol, the president takes precedence over everyone, his rank being higher than military chief.
In reality, however, the nominal head of the country is being used merely to extend military rule once every six months. Whenever the National Defense and Security Council meets to prolong military rule, Min Aung Hlaing wheels out Myint Swe to preside and nod approval at whatever the junta boss says.
Meanwhile, Myint Swe remains notably absent from junta cabinet meetings, national-level events, and meetings with diplomats.
It is as if the president were under house arrest, remark senior military officers and heads of departments.
Offering more clues to his resentment is his life at the President’s Office, which has been taken over by Min Aung Hlaing and renamed the State Administration Council (SAC) Office. SAC is the acronym used by the junta to describe itself.
Despite being the acting president, Myint Swe sits in his original office for vice-president No 1. The office of the president is occupied by Min Aung Hlaing.
The junta boss has also had his trusted military officers transferred to the SAC office and works only with them.
“He does not use directors-general from U Thein Sein’s government or the NLD government. This shows he has no trust in them,” said a source close to the President’s Office.
On days when Min Aung Hlaing visits the President’s Office from the War Office, where he spends most of his week, Myint Swe has to greet him at the entrance. Myint Swe also sees the junta chief out when he leaves the office.
This appears to be the limit of Myint Swe’s duties: extend military rule for Min Aung Hlaing every six months, greet him and see him out.
“Over time, staff have lost all respect for him. He is aware of that, and is deeply depressed,” said a President’s Office source.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 72-year-old looks old for his age in photos published by junta-controlled and pro-regime media.
Political observers monitoring the previous NDSC meeting six months ago commented that Myint Swe had aged a lot.
His haggard face was even more noticeable during his visit earlier this month alongside ex-president Thein Sein to see the giant Maravijaya Buddha image built by Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw.
Thein Sein is from the DSA’s ninth intake and is six years older than Myint Swe. But Myint Swe looked a lot older than the former president in photos of the visit.
While serving as chief of Yangon Command, Myint Swe played the lead role in purging then spy chief Khin Nyunt. The Military Intelligence formerly headed by Khin Nyunt was then replaced by the Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs, over which Myint Swe took charge.
He was then appointed chief minister of Yangon Region after Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government came to power in 2011. He was earmarked for the post of vice president, but the Constitution barred his appointment as his son held Australian citizenship.
That problem was resolved after the 2015 election when military lawmakers nominated him as vice-president.
Myint Swe’s political career seemed to be at an end after the NLD won again in the 2020 general election, but the subsequent coup saw Min Aung Hlaing use him to transfer power to the junta and invoke emergency rule.
Both former presidents U Htin Kyaw and U Win Myint were known to be ceremonial presidents of the NLD government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But they won both international recognition and support at home.
In contrast, Myint Swe is merely an accomplice of the coup leader, enduring daily humiliation.
