The Cabinet of Myanmar, officially the Union Government (), is the
executive body of the
government of Myanmar
Myanmar ( formerly Burma) () operates ''de jure'' as a unitary assembly-independent republic under its 2008 constitution. On 1 February 2021, Myanmar's military took over the government in a coup, causing ongoing anti-coup protests.
P ...
led by the
prime minister of Myanmar
The prime minister of Myanmar () is the head of government of Myanmar. The post was re-established in 2021 by the State Administration Council (SAC), the country's ruling military junta, to lead its nominally-civilian Provisional Government of ...
. The
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
serves as the current cabinet.
Qualifications
The
Constitution of Myanmar
The Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar () is the supreme law of Myanmar. Myanmar's first constitution adopted by constituent assembly was enacted for the Union of Burma in 1947. After the 1962 Burmese coup d'état, a second ...
stipulates that Union Ministers must be a
Burmese citizen who has been living in the country for at least ten consecutive years:
["Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008)"](_blank)
full text in English from ''Burma Library'', last accessed 5 October 2010
# persons who have attained the age of 40 years;
# persons who have qualifications, with the exception of the age limit, prescribed in Section 120 for Pyithu Hluttaw representatives;
# persons whose qualification does not breach the provisions under Section 121 which disqualify a person from standing for election as Pyithu Hluttaw representatives;
# persons loyal to the Union and its citizens
The Commander-in-Chief appoints the Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs and Border Affairs, selecting candidates from within the
Defence Services (Tatmadaw), while the President appoints the remainder.
The President also appoints the Deputy Ministers of the respective ministries, following the same qualifications as those of Union Ministers, with the exception of age (35 years, instead of 40).
Provisional Government of Myanmar (2021–present)
The Cabinet was sworn on 1 February 2021 in
Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's ...
, after being appointed by
Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing
Min Aung Hlaing (born 3 July 1956) is a Burmese army general who has ruled Myanmar as the chairman of the State Administration Council, chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC) since seizing power in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Fe ...
.
Heads and Deputy Heads
Members
Win Myint's Cabinet (March 2018 - February 2021)
The cabinet was sworn on 30 March 2018 at the
Assembly of the Union in
Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's ...
, after being appointed by President
Win Myint
Win Myint ( ; born 8 November 1951) is a Burmese politician who served as the tenth president of Myanmar from 2018 to 2021, when he was removed from office in the 2021 coup d'état. He was the speaker of the House of Representatives from 2016 ...
.
Heads and Deputy Heads
Members
Htin Kyaw's Cabinet (March 2016 – March 2018)
The Cabinet was sworn on 30 March 2016 at the
Assembly of the Union in
Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's ...
, after being appointed by President
Htin Kyaw, after the opposition
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 a majority in both chambers of the parliament. Under the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
, three ministers – of Border Affairs, Defence and Home Affairs – are appointed by the
National Defence and Security Council. The remaining 15 ministers were appointed by Htin Kyaw and included a majority from the NLD, but also two members of the former ruling party, the
Union Solidarity and Development Party
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (; abbr. USDP) is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the succe ...
(USDP) and a number of independents. The cabinet head, Htin Kyaw, resigned on 21 March 2018 and
Win Myint
Win Myint ( ; born 8 November 1951) is a Burmese politician who served as the tenth president of Myanmar from 2018 to 2021, when he was removed from office in the 2021 coup d'état. He was the speaker of the House of Representatives from 2016 ...
became the new president.
Thein Sein's Cabinet (March 2011 - March 2016)
Cabinet resignations (August 2015)
On 12 August 2015, Minister
Tin Naing Thein,
Myat Hein,
Khin Yi and
Than Htay, who will be competing in the
8 November election had resigned, and Lt-Gen
Wai Lwin and Lt-Gen
Thet Naing Win had moved to their former military responsibilities, replaced by Lt-Gen Sein Win and Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe.
July 2014 – August 2015 Cabinet
Cabinet dismissal and resignations (June–July 2014)
On 19 June 2014,
Hsan Sint was dismissed from the office of Minister of Religious Affairs and brought to court for corruption. He is the first Minister dismissed openly. He was succeeded by Soe Win, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs and former Deputy Minister for Ministry of Information. Minister for Information
Aung Kyi and Minister for Health
Pe Thet Khin were allowed to resign on 29 July 2014. They are succeeded by
Ye Htut and
Than Aung, Deputy Ministers.
Cabinet reshuffle (September 2012 – February 2013)
On 4 September 2012,
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw approved the government's reshuffle of ministries, increasing the number to 36, including six ministers located in the President's Office. The
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
approved the resignation of
Zaw Min, Union Minister for Electric Power-1, and
Khin Maung Myint, Union
Minister for Construction. The President also approved the resignation of Union Auditor-General Lun Maung on 28 August.
Thein Hteik, Union Minister for Mines, was appointed as Union Auditor-General, and Lt-Gen Wai Lwin of the Office of Commander-in-Chief (Army) as Union Defence Minister. Wai Lwin was replaced Lt-Gen
Hla Min, who was reassigned to the military. During the government's major
cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...
, nine ministers have been reassigned, mainly with four transferred to the President's Office and one,
Aung Kyi, named as the new
Minister for Information, replacing
Kyaw Hsan, who was transferred to the Ministry of Cooperatives as minister. In the present reformation of the cabinet, Ministries of Electric Power No. 1 and 2 were combined into one as the Ministry of Electric Power, while the Ministry of Industrial Development was abolished.
On 16 January 2013, Minister for Communications and Information Technology,
Thein Tun and
Minister for Religious Affairs, Thura
Myint Maung abruptly resigned.
Thein Tun was the first government minister known to have been investigated for corruption under the new government. San Sint, Speaker of
Ayeyarwady Region Hluttaw succeeded Thura Myint Maung later. On 13 February 2013, former Commander-in-Chief of
air force
An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
, General
Myat Hein become minister for Communications and Information Technology.
This appointments serve as a reminder that most ministers in the government are former officers who played a role in the previous
military junta
A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...
. Since taking office in 2011, the
reformist
Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution.
Within the socialist movement, ref ...
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
, who is himself a former general, has selected former senior
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
officers into government as it simply continues the flawed practices of past military rule, and given only a handful of posts to people without a military background.
Inaugural Cabinet (March 2011)
The Cabinet was sworn in on 30 March 2011 at the
Hluttaw complex in
Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's ...
, after being appointed by President
Thein Sein
Thein Sein (; IPA: ; born 20 April 1944) is a Burmese politician and retired military general who served as the 9th President of Myanmar from 2011 to 2016. He previously served as prime minister from 2007 to 2010, and was considered by many ...
. Four ministers, namely of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Border Affairs were nominated by Commander-in-Chief
Than Shwe
Than Shwe (; ; born 2 February 1933) is a retired Burmese army general who held influential positions within Myanmar's government. Serving as the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) from 1992 to 2011, he played a signifi ...
.
Two ministries, the Ministry of the President's Office and the Ministry of Industrial Development were created by the
Hluttaw (Parliament) on 9 February 2011.
The overwhelming majority of Ministers are
Union Solidarity and Development Party
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (; abbr. USDP) is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the succe ...
members of parliament or
military officers affiliated with the former
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...
(SPDC), and four are civilians. 12 have previously held ministerial posts, while another 7 have held deputy ministerial posts during the SPDC administration. 3 are former regional army commanders. On 10 August 2011, the cabinet was reshuffled, with Kyaw Swa Khaing, previously the Minister of Industry No. 1 (with Minister of Industry No. 2, Soe Thein, concurrently becoming head of the Ministry of Industry-1), appointed as co-Minister of the President's Office.
Soe Win's Cabinet
First Cabinet reshuffle (May 2006)
On 15 May 2006 the cabinet was reshuffled. The changes were:
Than Shwe's Cabinet
Second Cabinet reshuffle (September 2002)
On 14 September 2002 a minor cabinet reshuffle was reported:
Second Cabinet (October 1999)
On 30 October 1999, the
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...
issued a proclamation replacing
Ohn Gyaw
Ohn Gyaw (, ; born 3 March 1932) is a Burmese politician who served as 16th Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ohn Gyaw joined the diplomatic service in 1951, serving in Yugoslavia, Australia, and the USSR until 1985, when he was appointed Director of ...
with
Win Aung, the Burmese ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Second Cabinet (November 1998)
On 14 November 1998, the
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...
issued a proclamation replacing
Ohn Gyaw
Ohn Gyaw (, ; born 3 March 1932) is a Burmese politician who served as 16th Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ohn Gyaw joined the diplomatic service in 1951, serving in Yugoslavia, Australia, and the USSR until 1985, when he was appointed Director of ...
with
Win Aung, the Burmese ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Second Cabinet (December 1997)
On 21 December 1997, the
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...
announced a cabinet reshuffle:
Second Cabinet (November 1997)
On 15 November 1997 the
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...
issued a proclamation naming the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers in the government. They were:
First Cabinet reshuffle (17 June 1995)
On 17 June 1995 the cabinet was reshuffled, increasing the cabinet size and the number of military people with ministerial positions:
The outgoing Minister of Social welfare, relief and resettlement was appointed Minister of Culture, and the Minister of Culture was reassigned to the security management committee.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabinet Of Myanmar
Government of Myanmar