Burma elects first civilian president in decades
New president Htin Kyaw expected to take direction from Aung San Suu Kyi
MUMBAI, INDIA— A childhood friend of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was elected Tuesday as Burma’s new president, a major step for a country ruled or partially ruled by the military for more than half a century.
Htin Kyaw, 69, the first civilian to hold the presidency, was selected by lawmakers in Burma’s capital, Naypyitaw, following parliamentary elections in November in which Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy opposition party won by a landslide.
The choice marks a significant milestone for Burma. Beginning in 2011, a ruling junta began implementing democratic reforms, which prompted the western countries to lift long-standing economic sanctions. “This is a victory for the people of this country,” Htin Kyaw told reporters in brief remarks.
Htin Kyaw is expected to take direction from Suu Kyi, who said before the November election that she would hold a position “above the president” if her National League of Democracy (NLD) party won a majority. The former military junta barred Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner, from ascending to the country’s highest office by instituting a law disqualifying anyone with foreign family members. Suu Kyi’s late husband was British.
“He will be a most obedient servant for Aung San Suu Kyi,” Robert San Aung, a human rights lawyer, said by phone from Rangoon. Htin Kyaw, a member of the NLD executive committee, was hardly a household name in Burma, and even after his selection Tuesday news outlets were struggling to confirm pieces of his biography.
A resumé posted on Facebook by a party official said Htin Kyaw earned a master’s degree in economics from Rangoon University before working in economic affairs for the foreign ministry in the 1980s. The party did not confirm if the biography was official.
He has won praise for being a loyal member of Suu Kyi’s party, which has led the struggle for democratic rule for decades. He is a director at a charitable foundation named for Suu Kyi’s mother and remained close to her when she was placed under house arrest by the generals, even being jailed himself when he once attempted to accompany her on a trip to the city of Mandalay.
Historian Thant Myint-U called him “a very nice man” of “unimpeachable integrity.”
Under Burma’s system, the president is chosen by the parliament, which reserves one-quarter of the seats for the military. Htin Kyaw (pronounced “Chaw”) was nominated by Suu Kyi’s party and won 360 out of 652 votes cast by lawmakers Tuesday.
A candidate chosen by the military bloc, Myint Swe, won the second most votes and will become the first vice-president.
It remained unclear whether Suu Kyi would hold any position in the new government. Analysts said she was likely to serve as a kind of puppet master, determining the party’s political agenda, including rapprochement with the outside world and jump-starting a long isolated economy.
“This is a victory for the people of this country.” HTIN KYAW BURMA’S NEW PRESIDENT