Thein Maung ( my, သိန်းမောင်; January 2, 1891—May 23, 1946) was a Burmese politician and a medical doctor. He was the first Burmese ambassador to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and was one of the 21-leader members of the YMBA and the

GCBA The General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA), also known as the Great Burma Organisation ( my, မြန်မာအသင်းချုပ်ကြီး; ''Myanma Ahthinchokgyi''), was a political party in Burma. History The GCBA was for ...

Early life

Thein Maung was born on January 2, 1891, in

Paungde Paung-deh or Paungde United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. is a town in Pyay District, Pegu region in Burma (Myanmar). It is the administrative seat of Paungde Township Paungde Township is a township in Pyay District in the B ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. He attended Paungde Government Middle School, Yangon Government High School, and St. Patrick's High School in Mawlamyine. In 1913, he received his

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Yangon College. He also received an M.M.F. in medicine from the College of Kolkata.

Career

In 1923, he served as a member of the Diakite Legislative Council. From 1925–1926 and from 1931–1932, he served as the principal of Myoma National School. In 1934, he became a member of the Indian Legislative Council. While serving as a member, he sought to secede from India and regain the Burmese monastery in

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...

through the hands of the Hindu monk Mahan. In 1936, he served as a member of the Legislative Council of the

United GCBA The United GCBA, also known as the Ngawbinwsaing ( Burmese for "Five Flowers Alliance"), was a political party in Burma led by U Ba Pe. History The party was formed in 1936 as a successor to the People's Party, and gained its name "Five Flower ...

. Thein Maung served as Minister of Commerce of the Coalition Government (1937–1939) led by Dr. Ba Maw, which is part of the 91 departments of administration. After Burma was occupied by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

, he served as finance minister in Dr.

Ba Maw Ba Maw ( my, ဘမော်, ; 8 February 1893 – 29 May 1977) was a Burmese lawyer and political leader, active during the interwar and World War II periods. Dr. Ba Maw is a descendant of the Mon Dynasty. He was the first Burma Premier ...

's government from 1942 to 1944. In 1944, he also served as the first Burmese ambassador to Japan in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

The Thirty Comrades

Before the formation of the Burmese Army and

Thirty Comrades The Thirty Comrades ( my, ရဲဘော်သုံးကျိပ်) constituted the embryo of the modern Myanmar, Burmese army called the Burma Independence Army (BIA) which was formed to fight for independence from UK, Britain. This was ...

, Thakin Mya,

Thakin Kodaw Hmaing Thakin Kodaw Hmaing ( my, သခင်ကိုယ်တော်မှိုင်း, ; 23 March 1876 – 23 July 1964) is considered one of the greatest Burmese poets, writers and political leaders in the 20th century history of Burma. ...

, Ba Lwin and others chose to lead Thakin Aung San to fight against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1939. Colonel Suzuki Keiji arrived in Burma in May 1940 and met secretly with Maung, Hmaing, Mya, and Lwin in September. He helped Thakin Aung San and Thakin Hla Myaing to reach the Japanese military headquarters in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

(now

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

) from Amoi, and also helped them get to Japan via

. Japan-Burma Friendship Society Dr. Thein Maung arranged for communication between Thakin Aung San and Colonel Suzuki Keiji. He was the main supporter of the Thirty Comrades led by Thakin

Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947) was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he was assassinated just six months before his go ...

and their main facilitator for military training in

. Because of his actions, many people say that "The beginning of the

was Dr. Thein Maung".

Recognition

In February 1943, he visited Japan at the invitation of the Japanese government. He was awarded the '' Tat Naywun Order'' by

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

, the 124th

emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

Personal life

Thein Maung married Daw Khin Khin Latt, the daughter of Min Htin Hla Kyaw Khaung, who was the Graduate Artillery Minister during the reign of King

Thibaw Min Thibaw Min, also Thebaw or Theebaw ( my, သီပေါ‌မင်း, ; 1 January 1859 – 19 December 1916) was the last king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) and also the last Burmese monarch in the country's history. His re ...

. Together, they had a daughter, Daw Khin Thein.

Death

After the end of the Second World War and the surrender of the Japanese army, Allied forces arrested and imprisoned Maung at the Burmese Embassy in

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was originally built in 1 ...

. He became sick in prison and was sent back to Burma. He died on the ship back on May 23, 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thein Maung 1891 births 1946 deaths Burmese politicians Ambassadors of Myanmar to Japan University of Yangon alumni People from Pyay Region