Win Myint ( ; born 8 November 1951) is a Burmese politician who served as the tenth

president of Myanmar The president of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar () is the head of state and constitutional head of government of Myanmar. The president chairs the National Defence and Security Council and normally leads the Cabinet of Myanmar, the ...

from 2018 to 2021, when he was removed from office in the 2021 coup d'état. He was the speaker of the House of Representatives from 2016 to 2018. He also served as a member of parliament in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(

Pyithu Hluttaw The Pyithu Hluttaw (, ; House of Representatives) is the ''de jure'' lower house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 440 members, of which 330 are directly elected through the first-past-the ...

) from 2012 to 2018. Win Myint was viewed as an important ally of State Counsellor

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

Early life and education

Win Myint was born in Nyaung Chaung Village, Danubyu, Ayeyarwady Region, then part of the Union of Burma, to parents Tun Kyin and Daw Than. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

from the Rangoon Arts and Science University. Win Myint is married to Cho Cho and the couple has one daughter, Phyu Phyu Thin, a senior advisor of City Mart Holdings.

Political career

1988 uprising and 1990 election

After graduating in geology from Rangoon Arts and Science University, Win Myint became a High Court senior lawyer in 1981 and later a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Myanmar. In 1985, he became a High Court advocate. He was jailed for his role in the

8888 Uprising The 8888 Uprising, also known as the People Power Uprising and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and ther ...

, and has been described by some who have met him as rather a closed book. Out of jail in time for the 1990 Myanmar general election, which the military later nullified, he ran successfully for

Ayeyarwady Region Ayeyarwady Region ( , , ; formerly Ayeyarwady Division and Irrawaddy Division) is a region of Myanmar, occupying the delta region of the Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy River). It is bordered by the Rakhine State to the northwest, the Bago Region to ...

’s Danubyu Township, winning a majority of 20,388 (56% of the votes), but was never allowed to assume his seat.

2012 by-election and 2015 election

Win Myint resumed his political career in the

2012 Myanmar by-elections 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to ...

, winning a

, lower house seat in

Pathein Pathein ( ; , ; , ), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. It is located 190 km (120 mi) west of Yangon within Pathein Township on the bank of the Pathein River—a western branc ...

constituency, and going on to become secretary of parliament’s rule of law committee. In the

2015 Myanmar general election General elections were held in Myanmar on 8 November 2015, with the National League for Democracy winning a supermajority of seats in the combined national parliament. Voting occurred in all constituencies, excluding seats appointed by the mili ...

, he was elected as Pyithu Hluttaw MP for Tamwe Township. He served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Myanmar from 2016 to 2018.

Presidency

Following the resignation of Htin Kyaw as

President of Myanmar The president of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar () is the head of state and constitutional head of government of Myanmar. The president chairs the National Defence and Security Council and normally leads the Cabinet of Myanmar, the ...

, Win Myint resigned as Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw on 21 March 2018, a move seen by many as a preparation by the

National League for Democracy The National League for Democracy (, ; Abbreviation, abbr. NLD; Burmese abbr. ဒီချုပ်) is a deregistered liberal democratic political party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It became the country's ruling party after a landslide victo ...

for Win Myint to be put forward as a candidate for the presidency. Win Myint was succeeded by his deputy T Khun Myat. The

confirmed the election of Win Myint as the

' nominee for

Vice-President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

on 23 March 2018, paving the way for Win Myint to enter the election process for the next

. Win Myint defeated

Union Solidarity and Development Party The Union Solidarity and Development Party (; abbr. USDP) is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the succe ...

's candidate Thaung Aye with 273 votes to the latter's 27. Win Myint was elected as the 10th

by the

Pyidaungsu Hluttaw The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw ( , ) is the ''de jure'' national-level bicameral legislature of Myanmar established by the 2008 National Constitution. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is made up of two houses, the 224-seat Amyotha Hluttaw, or "House of Nation ...

(a combined meeting of the two houses of the national legislature) on 28 March 2018, with 403 out of 636 lawmakers voting for him. On 17 April 2018, Win Myint granted

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

to 8,500 prisoners, including 51 foreigners and 36 political prisoners.

2021 coup d'état

On 1 February 2021, during a

military coup d'état A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, Win Myint was detained along with fellow parliament members including the State Counsellor and

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a politica ...

, Aung Sun Suu Kyi, in

Naypyidaw Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's ...

. Win Myint was removed from office and replaced by

Myint Swe Myint Swe (; ; born 5 June 1950) is a Burmese politician and retired army officer who has been Vice President of Myanmar since 30 March 2016 and previously served as Acting President of Myanmar from 1 February 2021 to 22 July 2024. He also s ...

as acting head of state. Later on 4 February 2021, Win Myint was charged for violating rules banning gatherings during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Trial hearings commenced on 16 February. On 11 October, a Naypyidaw judge formally indicted Win Myint under Section 25 of the Disaster Management Law, which carries a maximum three-year prison sentence. During Win Myint's testimony on 12 October, he revealed that on 1 February in the lead-up to the coup, two senior military generals had attempted to force him to resign, under the guise of " ill health." On 6 December 2021, Win Myint and Suu Kyi were both sentenced to 4 years in jail. As of May 2025, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

list of Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Ministers for Foreign Affairs of all Member States continues to list Win Myint as President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. On 16 April 2024, the military announced that Win Myint had been transferred to house arrest due to a heat wave. However, pro-democracy publications such as ''

The Irrawaddy ''The Irrawaddy'' () is a news website by the Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG), founded in 1990 by Burmese exiles living in Thailand. As a publication produced by former Burmese activists who fled violent crackdowns on anti-military protests in ...

'' claimed that there is little evidence to support the junta's announcement.Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Remains in Prison: Informed Sources
April 18, 2024.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Members of Pyithu Hluttaw Speakers of the House of Representatives of Myanmar National League for Democracy politicians Prisoners and detainees of Myanmar 1951 births Living people Leaders ousted by a coup People from Ayeyarwady Region University of Yangon alumni Presidents of Myanmar