Ba Htay (, ) was a Burmese businessman,

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

, the Chairman of the Multi-Party Democracy General Election Commission and one of the pioneers of the now-extinct

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

movement in

Burma 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 ha ...

Biography

He was the eldest of three sons. He was born to well-known lumber merchants and builders in

Sagaing Sagaing (, ) is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located on the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing, with its numerous Buddhist monasteries, is an important religious and ...

, and his wife, Daw Lay Khin of Pekadoe Village in Sagaing in 1906.Suryadinata, Leo (2012). Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 1227–1228. . Ba Htay represented the

Union of Burma Boy Scouts The Myanmar Scout Association (''formerly known as the Union of Burma Boy Scouts'') is the national Scouting organization in Myanmar. Scouting in Myanmar was started in 1916 and disbanded in 1964 due to country's political changes; the current ...

and was elected one of the very earliest chairmen of the five-man ''Far East Scout Advisory Committee'' (FESAC), which would later become the Asia-Pacific Region, and served from 1958 to 1960. Ba Htay started his career as a tutor at

Rangoon University The University of Yangon (also Yangon University; , ; formerly Rangoon College, University of Rangoon and Rangoon Arts and Sciences University), located in Kamayut, Yangon, is the oldest university in Myanmar's modern education system and the b ...

, for a brief period. He later became

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

(ICS), and was referred to as ''ICS U Ba Htay'', one of very few elite administrators in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. He held such posts as Commissioner of

Settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

and Land Records, Financial Commissioner, and Chairman of

Burmah Oil Company The Burmah Oil Company was a leading British oil company which was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 1966, Castrol was acquired by Burmah, which was renamed Burmah-Castrol. BP Amoco purchased the company in 2000. History The c ...

, when the government took over 51% of the shares from the BOC.

Retirement

After

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in 1963, he was brought back into public life as the Multi-Party Democracy General Election Commission in 1988, after nationwide protests included demands for a free and fair election. Election was held in Burma (Myanmar) on 27 May 1990 and

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 ...

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 ...

(NLD) won by landslide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ba Htay Scouting pioneers 2000 deaths Burmese civil servants Scouting and Guiding in Myanmar Burmah-Castrol BP people People from Sagaing Region 1906 births