U Win Myint

U Win Myint was born on November 8, 1951, in Nyaung Chaung Village, Danubyu, Ayeyarwady Region, Burma to parents Tun Kyin and Daw Than. For primary education, he attended Nyaung Chaung Basic Education Primary School, and for his secondary education was at Danubyu Basic Education High School. He attended the Rangoon Arts and Sciences University where he graduated with a degree in geology. He is currently married to Cho Cho and has one daughter, Phyu Phyu Thin. 

In 1981, after graduating from Rangoon Arts and Sciences University, Win Myint became a senior lawyer for the High Court and for the Supreme Court of Myanmar. In 1985, he became a High court advocate. He has been a member of the National League for Democracy since the creation of the party in 1988 and was jailed for his participation in the 8888 Uprising. He was released from jail shortly after and decided to run in the 1990 Myanmar general election. He ran for Ayeyarwady Region’s Danubyu Township and won the majority of the vote (56%), but was never able to serve his position because the military nullified the results of the election. He ran for office again in 2012 and won a Pyithu Hluttaw, a lower house seat in the Pathein constituency, and went on to become secretary of the parliament’s rule of law committee. In the 2015 Election, he was elected as Pyithu Hluttaw MP for Yangon’s Tamwe Township. He also served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Myanmar from 2016 to 2018. 

When the previous president, Htin Kyaw, resigned due to health issues and a “need for rest”, Win Myint resigned as Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw on March 21, 2018, in preparation for his presidential run.  as a representative of the NLD. Win Myint was elected as the 10th President of Myanmar by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on March 28, 2018. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is made up of two houses – the Amyotha Hluttaw (the House of Nationalities – the upper house) and the Pyithu Hluttaw (the House of Representatives – the lower house). Win Myint was voted for by 403 out of the 636 lawmakers. During his presidency, he was considered a vital ally to Aung Sun Suu Kyi. She was technically his state counselor but she served as the de facto president because she was barred from running for president herself. 

On February 1, 2021, the military staged a coup and Win Myint was detained by the military along with other parliament members such as Aung Sun Suu Kyi. His presidency was overthrown by the military dictator Min Aung Hlaing and the Tatmadaw declared Win Myint’s vice president, Myint Swe, to be the new president. Days later, Win Myint was charged with violating COVID-19 regulations. He was formally indicted on October 11, 2021, under section 25 of the Disaster Management Law. On December 6, 2021, Win Myint was sentenced to four years in jail.