Brigadier General Aung Shwe (; 19 May 1919 – 13 August 2017) was a Burmese politician and a member of General

Ne Win Ne Win (; ; 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002), born Shu Maung (; ), was a Burmese army general, politician and Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma from 1962 to 1981. Ne Win was Burma's mili ...

Burma Rifles The Burma Rifles were a British colonial regiment raised in British Burma. Founded in 1917 as a regiment of the British Indian Army, the regiment re-used the name of an unrelated earlier unit, the 10th Regiment (1st Burma Rifles) Madras Infantry, ...

rising to Brigadier General. He was one of the founders and former President of 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 ...

who took charge of the party when

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 ...

and Tin Oo were under house arrest in the early 1990s and 2000s.

Early life and education

Aung Shwe was born in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

British Burma British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

to Phoe Con and Daw Thein. He graduated in arts from Rangoon University in 1940. From 1942 to 1945, he served under the leadership of General

Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947), known honorifically as '' Bogyoke'' Aung San, was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he w ...

Burma Independence Army The Burma Independence Army (BIA), was a Collaboration with Imperial Japan, pro-Japanese and revolutionary army that fought for the end of British rule in Burma by assisting the Empire of Japan, Japanese in Japanese conquest of Burma, their c ...

, Burma Defence Army and Patriotic Burmese Forces during the

Japanese occupation of Burma The Japanese occupation of Burma was the period between 1942 and 1945 during World War II, when Burma was occupied by the Empire of Japan. The Japanese had assisted formation of the Burma Independence Army, and trained the Thirty Comrades, ...

. Aung Shwe joined the Burmese army in 1945.

Military and governmental career

Aung Shwe played a role in the 1958

caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...

and served as a high-ranking military officer led by General

. During this time, he also served as the

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Southern Regional Command from 1955 to 1961 and Northern Regional Command in 1957. Aung Shwe was a member of the Burma Socialist Party before the

1962 Burmese coup d'état The 1962 Burmese coup d'état marked the beginning of one-party rule in Burma (Myanmar) and the political dominance of the military in Burmese politics. In the 2 March 1962 coup, the military replaced the civilian AFPFL-government headed ...

. He was forced to retire from

Tatmadaw The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...

in 1961 after a public disagreement with General

, on the military's long-term role in government. He then served as Burmese ambassador to France, Australia, Egypt, Spain and New Zealand from 1961 to 1975. Subsequent to his posting in Australia, He served in Egypt and then in Paris until his retirement from government service in 1975. He settled in

, where in 1988 public demonstrations erupted that eventually spread across the country. The people of Burma were tired of the authoritarian rule of the

Burma Socialist Programme Party The Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) was the ruling party of Burma (now Myanmar) from 1962 to 1988 and the country's sole legal party from 1964 to 1988. Party chairman Ne Win overthrew the country's democratically elected government i ...

Political career

Aung Shwe founded

Party with Tin Oo and secretary-general,

on 27 September 1988. He was a leading member of the NLD and also chairman of the Patriotic Old Comrades' League (POCL) in 1988. He was elected as the MP for

Yangon Region Yangon Region (, ; formerly Rangoon Division and Yangon Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar. Located in central Myanmar, the region is bordered by Bago Region to the north and east, the Gulf of Martaban to the south, and Ayeyarwady ...

Mayangon Township Constituency No. 1 in the 1990 Myanmar general election. He was also chairman of the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP), a group of successful candidates in the 1990 elections.

Personal life and death

He died on 13 August 2017 at Victoria Hospital in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. He is survived by his three sons and three daughters namely Aung Than Shwe, Than Pe Shwe, Aung Myint Shwe, Yuzana Shwe, Myinzu Shwe and Sabai Shwe.Mizzima New
Former NLD chairman U Aung Shwe passes away
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aung Shwe 1919 births 2017 deaths Burmese generals Burmese Buddhists University of Yangon alumni Politicians from Yangon National League for Democracy politicians Burmese prisoners and detainees Ambassadors of Myanmar to France Ambassadors of Myanmar to New Zealand Ambassadors of Myanmar to Egypt Ambassadors of Myanmar to Australia Ambassadors of Myanmar to Spain