The United Hill People's Congress (; UHPC) was a political party in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

History

The party was originally established as the Shan State People's Freedom League in 1945, being the

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

branch of the

Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) was a broad popular front that ruled Burma (now Myanmar) between 1947 and 1958. It included both political parties and trade unions as members. The league evolved out of the anti-Japanese res ...

(AFPFL).Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of Asia and the Pacific'', Greenwood Press, pp148–149 Headed by

U Htun Aye U, or u, is the twenty-first letter and the fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pronounced ), ...

, the party was unpopular with

Saopha Saopha (), also spelled Sawbwa, was the title used by hereditary rulers of Shan states in Upper Myanmar. Chaopha and Chao Fa were similar titles used by the hereditary Tai rulers in mainland Southeast Asia and the Ahom kingdom in India. Nam ...

s. After they had accepted the inclusion of the Shan states in independent Burma, the Saophas joined the party, which was reorganised in 1947 to become the United Hill People's Congress, representing the traditional elite.Fukui, p153

Sao Shwe Thaik Sao Shwe Thaik (, ''Tsaw³ Kham⁴soek³''; , ; 16 October 1895 – 21 November 1962) was a Burmese politician who served as the first president of the Union of Burma and the last Saopha of Yawnghwe. His full royal title was ''Kambawsaraht ...

, later Burma's first president, was the new party's president. It contested the 1951–52 general elections as an AFPFL ally.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p614 By the

1956 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1956. Africa * 1956 Gold Coast legislative election * 1956 Italian Somaliland parliamentary election * 1956–1957 Kenyan legislative election * 1956 Nyasaland general election Asia * 1956 Burmese gene ...

U Htun Aye had formed the

Shan State Peasants' Organisation The Shan State Peasants' Organisation (SSPO) was a political party in Myanmar, Burma. History The party was formed by U Htun Aye, former head of the United Hill People's Congress, Shan State People's Freedom League, in order to contest the 1956 ...

(SSPO), but the UHPC held 39 seats. It received 4.2% of the vote and was reduced to 14 seats, although it was the third largest party in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

; the SSPO won just two seats. The party's popularity began to decrease as Shans became disenchanted with the government's policy towards them. The UHPO moved away from the AFPFL, although it remained in a coalition government with the ruling party. It contested the 1960 elections as an ally of the Clean faction of the AFPFL, receiving 1.1% of the vote as it was reduced to six seats.

References

{{Burmese political parties Defunct political parties in Myanmar Political parties established in 1945 Political parties established in 1947 1945 establishments in Burma 1947 establishments in Burma