Client briefing note | 7 April 2016
The Myanmar government introduces
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NEW MYANMAR UNION PARLIAMENT
ANNOUNCES 20 INCOMING MINISTERS
INCLUDING AUNG SAN SUU KYI
On March 22nd, 2016, the Pyihtaungsu
Hluttaw announced the names and
positions of the Union Ministers who
will take control of their respective
ministries on April 1st, 2016. A full list
of the incoming ministers, as well as a
brief background of each is included at
the end of this article.
The new ministers come from diverse
backgrounds including the National
League for Democracy (NLD), the
Union Solidarity and Development
Party (USDP) the business world and
academia.
Of particular note is Aung San Suu
Kyis appointment to head two
ministries including the Ministry of the
Presidents Office and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. These 2 ministries had
spanned a total of 6 separate ministries
in the previous government before the
recent consolidation approved by the
Union Parliament on March 21st, 2016.
It should be noted that this will
preclude Aung San Suu Kyi from future
involvement in the Union Parliament.
Aung San Suu Kyis appointment, as
the Minister of Foreign Affairs lands
her a spot on the National Defense and
Security Council (NDSC), a body with
expansive yet opaque powers. The
Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) reports
directly to the NDSC.
a total of 20 new ministers to assume
control of 21 ministries. Only Aung
San Suu Kyi, who will lead 2 ministries,
is responsible for multiple ministries
in the new government.
In addition, Aung San Suu Kyi is
expected to be appointed State
Counsellor, a position recently
created through the passage of a
bill by the Union Parliament. This
position is expected to give Aung San
Suu Kyi a role similar to that of Prime
Minister in other countries.
The consolidation of the ministries
and replacement of all of the Union
Ministers will certainly present a
unique challenge for the incoming
government. We expect the situation
to remain fluid over the coming
months as the new ministers take
their posts and carry out the new
governments restructuring plans.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED
THAT THIS WILL PRECLUDE
AUNG SAN SUU KYI FROM
FUTURE INVOLVEMENT IN
THE UNION PARLIAMENT.
Page 1
 MYANMAR
GOVERNMENT

PRESIDENT MINISTRIES OF MYANMAR

U HTIN KYAW Sr. No. Name of Minister Name of Ministry

1 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of the Presidents Office

2 U Pe Zin Tun Ministry of Electric Power and Energy

VICE PRESIDENT 3 U Myo Thein Gyi Ministry of Education

4 Dr. Aung Thu Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and

U MYINT SWE Irrigation

5 U Thant Zin Maung Ministry of Transport and

U HENRY VAN THIO Telecommunications

6 Thura U Aung Ko Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs

7 U Ohn Win Ministry of Natural Resources and

Environmental Conservation

AUDITOR GENERAL 8 U Thein Swe Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Man

Population

U MAW THAN 9 U Kyaw Win Ministry of National Planning and

Finance

10 U Khin Maung Cho Ministry of Industry

11 Dr. Myint Htwe Ministry of Health

ATTORNEY GENERAL 12

13
U Win Khiaing

Dr. Win Myat Aye

Ministry of Construction

Ministry of Social Welfare Relief and

Resettlement
U TUN TUN OO
14 U Ohn Maung Ministry of Hotels and Tourism

15 U Than Myint Ministry of Commerce

16 Dr. Pe Myint Ministry of Information

17 Naing Thet Lwin Ministry of Ethnic Affairs

Client briefing note
18 Lieutenant General Ministry of Defence
Dated 7 April 2016 Sein Win

19 Lieutenant General Ministry of Home Affairs

Kyaw Swe

20 Lieutenant General Ye Ministry of Border Affairs

Aung Page 2
Biographies of Incoming Ministers
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Presidents
Office
A chairperson for the National League for
Democracy (NLD), Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
is not only the most celebrated woman
in the country but also one of the most
prominent political figures in the world.
She won the Pyithu Hluttaw seat (Kawhmu
Township) in the 2012 by-election and the
2015 election. The upper and lower houses
of parliament have recently approved
the state counsellor bill, which, in effect,
creates a new post of prime minister for
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
U Pe Zin Tun, Ministry of Electric
Power and Energy
U Pe Zin Tun a former military officer, was
the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of
Electric Power (MOEP), and had previously
worked as a production manager for
Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE),
Ministry of Energy (MOE). He holds a B.E
(Petro) degree and a Diploma in Energy
Management from Thailand.
U Myo Thein Gyi, Ministry of
Education
The former DG of the Department of Higher
Education U Myo Thein Gyi, has been the
Head of the University of West Yangon until
his retirement in recent weeks. He actively
participated in the curriculum reform and
was involved in drafting the controversial
education law. U Myo Thein Gyi is also an
executive member of Myanmar Computer
Association. He holds a PhD from Berlin
Technology University (1998).
Dr. Aung Thu, Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock and Irrigation
Dr. Aung Thu started his career teaching
mathematics as an assistant lecturer and,
after working in different universities
across the country, became the head of
Yangon University. He retired in August
to contest the 2015 election and won a
seat in the Upper House (NLD, Yangon
Constituency No.6).
U Thant Zin Maung, Ministry of
Transport and Telecommunications
U Thant Zin Maung won a sit in the Pyithu
Hluttaw in 2015 election (NLD, Monywa
Constituency). He lectured in Mathematics
before joining Myanmar Railways and
becoming a general manager, now retired.
Thura U Aung Ko, Ministry of Culture
and Religious Affairs
Thura U Aung Ko is a retired military officer
and an executive committee member of
the Union Solidarity and Development
Party (USDP). He was a chairperson for the
Judicial and Legal Affairs Committee under
the previous government. He also served as
a Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and a
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology
before the Thein Seins government.
U Ohn Win, Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environmental
Conservation
A former Head of University of Forestry in
Yezin, U Ohn Win holds a masters degree
in Watershed Management from Colorado
State University. He is on the advisory board
of a non for profit Myanmar Institute of
Integrated Development and specializes
in research management, hydrology,
watershed and soil conservation, climate
change adaptation and biodiversity
conservation.
U Thein Swe, Ministry of Labour,
Immigration and Population
A central executive committee member of
the USDP and a former spokesperson for
the party, U Thein Swe won a seat in the
Pyithu Hluttaw (Ann Constituency, Rakhine
State) in the 2015 election. He is a chairman
of the Transportation, Communication
and Construction Committee and a Vice
Chairman of the Commission for Studying,
Examining and Reviewing Legal Affairs and
Special Cases. He was a minister of Prime
Ministers Office and Minister of Transport
before the change of government in 2010.
U Kyaw Win, Ministry of National
Planning and Finance
U Kyaw Win worked as a chief officer at the
Planning and later Revenue Departments
under the Ministry of Finance before
becoming an economic advisor for the NLD
in 1997. He won a seat in the Pyithu Hluttaw
(Dagon Seikkan Township) in the 2015
election.
U Khin Maung Cho, Ministry of
Industry
U Khin Maung Cho holds a degree in
mechanical engineering from Yangon
Institute of Technology and is an executive
engineer for Super Seven Stars Motor
Industry Company Ltd. the certified
distributor of Kia cars.
Dr. Myint Htwe, Ministry of Health
Dr. Myint Htwe worked for the Ministry
of Health for 17 years before joining the
World Health Organization (WHO) in
1994. He undertook different positions
with the WHO including a Director
for Program Management until his
retirement in 2010. Dr. Myint Htwe is
a member of the Central Executive
Committee of Myanmar Academy of
Medical Science, a Vice Chairman for
Liver Foundation and a chairperson for
the Ethical review Committee under the
Ministry of Health. He holds a number
of medical degrees from both Myanmar
and foreign universities.
U Win Khaing, Ministry of
Construction
U Win Khaing started his career as
an engineer at MOGE, MOE. He is the
Chairman of Myanmar Engineering
Society, a member of the Myanmar
Investment Commission (MIC),
the National Energy Management
Committee (NEMC), the Myanmar
Industrial Development Committee
(MIDC), the Myanmar Board of
Engineers (MBE), Committee for Quality
Control of High-rise Building Projects
(CQHP) the ASEAN Federation of
Engineering Organizations (AFEO) and
the ASEAN Academy of Engineering
and Technology (AAET). He is also the
founder and Chairman of an oil and gas
logistics company United Engineering
Group.
Dr. Win Myat Aye, Ministry
of Social Welfare Relief and
Resettlement
Dr. Win Myat Aye is a renowned specialist
in child health care. He taught at
medical universities across Myanmar
untill his retirement in 2015. He has
participated in a number of initiatives
to promote healthcare, education and
rural development. Dr Win Myat Aye is
also a member of several committees
focusing on child healthcare and medical
education.
U Ohn Maung, Ministry of Hotels
and Tourism
The Myanmar tourism industrys old-
timer, U Ohn Maung ran the only
guesthouse on Inle Lake before joining
the NLD in 1988. He has opened a number
of thriving hotels since, including Inle
Princess Resort and rejoined the NLD in
2012.
Page 3

U Than Myint, Ministry of Commerce
A Chairman of the NLDs Executive
Committee (Hlaing Tharyar Township), U
Than Myint holds a bachelors degree in
economics (Yangon) as well as a masters
and a PhD (USA). He started his career as
a chief officer (Planning) at the Ministry
of Finance and later worked for the UN.
He is a member of the FMI City Housing
Development Committee and a volunteer
for free ambulance service in Yangon.
Dr. Pe Myint, Ministry of Information
Dr. Pe Myint is a renowned writer and
translator. A former doctor, he switched
careers after 11 years in the medical
field and took a training course at the
Indochina Media Memorial Foundation in
Bangkok. He then turned to writing, won
the national literature award, participated
in the International Writing Programme at
the University of Iowa and was the editor-
in-chief of Peoples Age Journal.
Naing Thet Lwin, Ministry of Ethnic
Affairs
A native of Mon State, Naing Thet Lwin
started his political career in 1958, later
joined the Mon Development Party and,
and co-founded the Mon Democratic Party
in 1988, leading the Mon anti-government
movement. He is currently a vice chairman
for the Mon National Party. Naing Thet
Lwin is well respected within Mon political
circles and has wide-ranging business
endeavors such as rubber, fisheries, food
exports and hotels.
Lieutenant General
Sein Win, Ministry of Defence
A former Chief of Bureau of Air Defense,
Lieutenant General Sein Win holds a
masters degree in defense. He was the
Minister of Defense under the previous
government.
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U Maw Than, Auditor General
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