Thet Lwin
Thet Lwin | |
|---|---|
နိုင်သက်လွင် | |
| Minister for Ethnic Affairs | |
| Assumed office 30 March 2016 | |
| Preceded by | new post |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 October 1940 (age 83) Kawkareik, Kayin State, Myanmar |
| Political party | Mon National Party |
| Alma mater | Mawlamyine University |
Nai Thet Lwin (Burmese: နိုင်သက်လွင်; also Htet Lwin; born 1940[1]) is an ethnic Mon Myanmar politician who is currently the Minister of Ethnic Affairs in the government of President Htin Kyaw.
Background
Thet Lwin was born to Aung Nyein and Khin Thein in Kawkareik Township, Kayin State, on 20 October 1940.[2] He went to Moulmein College (now Mawlamyine University) and studied philosophy.[3] He started in politics at the age of 18, joining the Mon Development Party. After graduating in 1970, he focused on teaching and preserving Mon literature and culture.[4]
Political career
In 1988, he brought Mon politicians together in his house to form the Mon National Democratic Front, as part of the "8888" pro-democracy movement. He became vice-chairman of the MNDF, running for a seat in the Mon State capital, Mawlamyine, in the 1990 election.[4]
After the 1990 election, the party was banned and he went into business, including rubber, fisheries processing, food exports and hotels. In 2011 he participated in government peace talks with the Mon National Liberation Army.[5]
He helped reestablish the party in 2012, after political parties were allowed again. In 2015 he participated in the founding of the United Nationalities Alliance, which brought together eight ethnic minority political parties in Myanmar. He called for the implementation of a federal system in Myanmar as a top priority and said a democratic system and the rule of law were "of great importance".[6] He was appointed the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, a newly formed ministry, in 2015. Asked what his policies were, he said, simply, "I will follow [NLD Chairperson] Daw Aung San Suu's instructions ... the country's ethnic minorities all love and trust her."[7]
He took office on 30 March 2015 as part of the first government of the country formed by the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) following their victory in the 2015 general election.[8] The vice-chair[8] of the Mon National Party, he was one of only three ministers appointed to cabinet from a party other than the ruling NLD.
Family
He is married to Kyin Than and has four children, Mahn Banya San, Mi Kon Chan, Mahn Lagun Ein, and Man Banya Aung Htun.[2][9] His daughter, Mi Kon Chan, was elected an MP for the NLD for Paung Township in the 2015 election.[10]
References
- ^ "Who's who: Myanmar's new cabinet". Myanmar Times. 23 March 2016.
- ^ a b "ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီးများ၏ကိုယ်ရေးအကျဉ်းမျာ". 7Day News Journal (in Burmese). Retrieved 2020-04-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Meet Burma's Next Cabinet". Irrawaddy. 24 March 2016.
- ^ a b "New Portfolio, Old Political Hand for Ethnic Affairs Post". Irrawaddy. 22 March 2016.
- ^ "Mon State government peace team arrives at headquarters of NMSP". reliefweb. 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Dialogue with eight groups will not produce genuine peace". Eleven Myanmar. 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Euphoria subsides as new govt takes helm". Bangkok Post. 31 March 2016.
- ^ a b Times, The Myanmar. "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to join government as NLD reveals cabinet". www.mmtimes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
- ^ "လွှတ်တော်က အတည်ပြုလိုက်သော ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး(၁၈)ဦး၏ ကိုယ်ရေးအကျဉ်း".
- ^ "Amending the constitution? We'll try our best". Mizzima. 22 October 2015.