Thein Sein သိန်းစိန်
President of Burma
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 March 2011
Vice President	Sai Mauk Kham
Preceded by	Than Shwe (Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council)
Prime Minister of Burma
In office 24 October 2007 – 30 March 2011 Acting: April 2007 – 24 October 2007
Leader	Than Shwe
Preceded by	Soe Win
Succeeded by	Position abolished
First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council
In office 2004 – 24 October 2007
Preceded by	Khin Nyunt
Succeeded by	Tin Aung Myint Oo
Member of the Pyithu Hluttaw
In office 7 November 2010 – 30 March 2011
Succeeded by	Sanda Min
Constituency	Zabuthiri Township
Majority	65,620 (91.2%)
Personal details
Born	(1945-04-20) 20 April 1945 (age 67)[1] Kyounku, British Burma
Political party	Union Solidarity and Development Party (2010–present)
Other political affiliations	State Peace and Development Council (Before 2010)
Spouse(s)	Khin Khin Win
Alma mater	Defence Services Academy
Religion	Theravada Buddhism
Website	http://www.president-office.gov.mm
Military service
Service/branch	Myanmar Army
Years of service	1968–2010
Rank	General

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Thein Sein (Burmese: သိန်းစိန် [θéɪɴ zèɪɴ]; born 20 April 1945) is a Burmese politician and former military figure who has been president of Burma (Myanmar) since March 2011. Previously, he was Prime Minister from 2007 until 2011. He is generally considered to be a moderate and reformist in the new government.^[2]

Early life[link]

Thein Sein was born in Kyonku, British Burma (now Myanmar), a small village in what is now Ngapudaw Township in the Irrawaddy delta to parents Maung Phyo (father) and Khin Nyunt (mother). He was the youngest of three children. His parents were landless, and his father made a living carrying cargo at the river jetty and weaving bamboo mats.^[3]

Political career[link]

Thein Sein graduated from the 9th intake of the Defense Services Academy in 1968.^[4]

Throughout Thein Sein's four-decade-long military career, he was considered a bureaucrat, not a combat soldier. In 1988, he served as a major for Sagaing Division's 55th Light Infantry Division and later served as a commander for Sagaing Division's 89th Infantry Battalion in Kalay Township. The following year, he studied at the Command and General Staff College in Kalaw, Shan State.

By 1991, he had returned to Yangon, after being promoted to the rank of colonel and 1st Grade General Staff Officer in the War Office. He was then promoted to Brigadier General, but remained at his position in the War Office, which marked the first time a Brigadier General was promoted to General Staff Officer.

In 1995, he was recruited as the commander of Yangon Division's Military Operations Command 4 in Hmawbi. A year later, in 1996, he was appointed to lead the new Triangle Regional Military Command in Kyaingtong, Shan State, serving this role for four years (1997–2001). While serving as Commander, he was known to be close to drug lords in the United Wa State Army and Lahu militia officials.^[5][6]

In 1997, he became a member of the State Peace and Development Council and was appointed as Secretary-2 in 2003.^[7][8] He was also promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General that year.^[9]

After Khin Nyunt was deposed in 2004, Thein Sein was promoted to Secretary-1.^[7]

Prime Minister[link]

Thein Sein was appointed in April 2007 by the nation's ruling military junta^[10] as interim prime minister, replacing Soe Win, who was undergoing medical treatment for leukemia.^[11][12] Thein Sein was formally appointed as Soe Win's permanent successor on 24 October 2007 after Soe Win's death on 12 October 2007.^[13]

Sein held the position of first secretary in the ruling State Peace and Development Council junta. He was the country's fourth-highest ranking general,^[14] and also served as the chairman of the government-sponsored National Convention Convening Commission.^[15] Thein Sein carried out high-level negotiations with Bangladesh and Cambodia.^[11][12]

In 2007, sometime after his official appointment as prime minister, he was promoted to the rank of General from Lieutenant General.^[16] On his first official visit outside Myanmar as prime minister, Thein Sein carried out high-level negotiations with Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.^[17][18][19]

In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, he led the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee as chairman and was criticized for the government's systematic blocking of relief efforts.^[8]

Presidency[link]

On 29 April 2010, he retired from the military, along with 22 other military officials, to lead the Union Solidarity and Development Party as a civilian.^[20] During the 2010 general election, he was head of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which contested in a controversial elections and won the overwhelming majority of seats in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. Thein Sein ran against National Unity Party candidate Kyaw Aye during the election, contesting a Pyithu Hluttaw seat to represent the constituents of Naypyidaw Union Territory's Zabuthiri Township. He purportedly won 91.2% of the votes (65,620).^[21]

On 4 February 2011, Sein was elected by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw's Presidential Electoral College as the next president of Myanmar, becoming the country's first non-interim civilian president in 49 years. Tin Aung Myint Oo and Sai Mauk Kham were named as the new vice-presidents.^[22]

Sein was sworn in on 30 March 2011 alongside the two vice presidents and the newly elected parliament.^[23] In the first month of his presidency, he sought the support of ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan to support Burma's bid to chair the ASEAN Summit in 2014.^[24] As of July 2011, the government has formed a planning committee led by foreign affairs minister Wunna Maung Lwin.^[25]

Thein Sein is considered a moderate willing to engage with Aung San Suu Kyi; he had a high-profile meeting with her in Naypyidaw on 19 August 2011.^[26]

On 17 August 2011, he was quoted by the state newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar as saying:^[27]

Various news sources intrepreted his suggestion as an invitation for overseas Burmese citizens to return to their country of origin and help rebuild the Burmese economy.^[28]

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Burma's President Thein Sein in Naypyitaw, 1 December 2011.

He suffers from heart disease and uses a pacemaker.^[29][30]

References[link]

v t e Heads of state of Burma (Myanmar) Sao Shwe Thaik Ba U Win Maung Ne Win1 San Yu1 Sein Lwin1 Aye Ko2 Maung Maung2 Saw Maung1 Than Shwe1 Thein Sein ^1 military officeholders ^2 acting officeholders

v t e Prime Ministers of Burma (Myanmar) U Nu Ba Swe U Nu Ne Win U Nu Ne Win[m] Sein Win[m] Maung Maung Kha[m] Tun Tin Saw Maung[m] Than Shwe[m] Khin Nyunt[m] Soe Win[m] Thein Sein[m] ^[m] military officeholders