General Mya Tun Oo ( my, မြထွန်းဦး; also spelt Mya Htun Oo) is a Burmese military officer and politician who serves as the incumbent

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

, appointed by the

Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services The commander-in-chief of Defence Services () is the commanding officer of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. Since a state of emergency was declared following the 2021 military coup d'état, the commander-in-chief has been the highest ...

Min Aung Hlaing Min Aung Hlaing ( my, မင်းအောင်လှိုင် abbreviated: MAL ; born 3 July 1956) also known as Alaungsithu is a Burmese politician and army general who has ruled Myanmar as the chairman of the State Administration Coun ...

, on 1 February 2021. Currently, he is also a member of the

State Administration Council The State Administration Council ( my, နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်ရေးကောင်စီ; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Comm ...

, and a member of the

National Defence and Security Council The National Defence and Security Council ( my, အမျိုးသား ကာကွယ်ရေးနှင့် လုံခြုံရေး ကောင်စီ, ; abbreviated NDSC) is an eleven-member national security council respons ...

as the Minister of Defence.

Early life and education

Mya Tun Oo was born on 5 May 1961. He graduated in the

Defence Services Academy The Defence Services Academy ( my, စစ်‌တက္ကသိုလ်, ) located in Pyin Oo Lwin, is the premier military service academy of Myanmar, training future officers for all three branches of Myanmar military. The Ministry of Defence ...

's 25th intake in 1984.

Career

Mya Tun Oo's rapid rise through the armed forces was noted by political observers, known for his professional record in both field combat and staff roles. By 2010, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, serving as the rector of the Defence Services Academy, his alma mater. From 2011 to 2012, he served as the commander of the Eastern Central Command, which encompasses central Shan State. In 2012, he was promoted to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, serving as the army's chief of staff, chief of military security affairs, and chief of the Bureau of Special Operations 6. From 2015 to 2017, he served as the head of Bureau of Operations - 5, which includes the Naypyidaw and Western Commands. On 26 August 2016, he was promoted to the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

, serving as the chief of general staff for the army, navy, and air force. After years of speculation, he was appointed by the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services as the

on 1 February 2021.On the following day (2 February 2021), he was appointed as a member of the State Administration Council by the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services.

Sanctions

The

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

has imposed sanctions on "Mya Tun Oo" since 11 February 2021, pursuant to Executive Order 14014, in response to the Burmese military’s coup against the democratically elected

civilian government Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for example ...

of Burma. The US sanctions include freezing of assets under the US and ban on transactions with US person. The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

has imposed sanctions on him since 18 February 2021, pursuant to Special Economic Measures Act and Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations, in response to the gravity of the human rights and humanitarian situation in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Canadian sanctions include freezing of assets under Canada and ban on transactions with Canadian person.

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

and the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

have also imposed sanctions on him since 18 February 2021, for his responsibility for serious human rights violations in Burma. The UK sanctions include freezing of assets under the UK and ban on traveling or transiting to the UK. Furthermore, the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

has imposed sanctions on him since 22 March 2021, pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/479 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/480 which amended Council Regulation (EU) No 401/2013, for his responsibility for the military coup and the subsequent military and police repression against peaceful demonstrators. The EU sanctions include freezing of assets under member countries of the EU and ban on traveling or transiting to the countries.

Personal life

Mya Tun Oo is married to Thet Thet Aung.

References

{{reflist Living people Government ministers of Myanmar Defence Services Academy alumni 1961 births Defence ministers Defence ministers of Myanmar Burmese military personnel Burmese generals Members of the State Administration Council Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List

Early life and education

Career

Sanctions

Personal life

See also

References