General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Myat Hein (; born 27 April 1955) is a Burmese politician and former military official who served as the Minister for Communications and Information Technology from 2013 to 2015 and commander-in-chief of the

Myanmar Air Force The Myanmar Air Force (, ) is the aerial branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception has been to provide transport, logistical, and close air support to the Myanm ...

. He has served as Vice Chairman of 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 ...

since August 2016.

Early life and education

Myat Hein was born on 27 April 1955 in

Pegu Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...

Pegu Division Bago Region (, ; formerly Pegu Division and Bago Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region and Mandalay Region to the north; Kayin State, Mon State and ...

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 ...

. He earned a master's degree from the

Defence Services Academy The Defence Services Academy (, ) located in Pyin Oo Lwin, is the premier military service academy of Myanmar, training future officers for all three branches of Myanmar military. The Ministry of Defence administered academy offers bachelor's d ...

Military and governmental career

During 2001, Myat Hein held the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and served as Chief of Staff (Air). The following year, Myat Hein remained as Chief of Staff (Air), and was promoted to brigadier general. By 2003 he had been appointed Commander-in-Chief (Air) and held the rank of major general. During his time as the Air Force commander, Myat Hein has maintained close links with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. On 13 February 2013, he retired from the military and became Minister of Communications and Information Technology. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

has ordered that Myat Hein's funds be frozen inside its jurisdiction. On 23 August 2016, he was elected vice-chairman of the

, preceded by three deputy-chairman

Shwe Mann Thura Shwe Mann (, ; born 11 July 1947) is a Burmese politician who was Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of parliament from 31 January 2011 to 29 January 2016.Freeman, A. & Roads, J"Myanmar’s Speaker of the Lower House Shwe Mann ...

Htay Oo Htay Oo (; born 20 January 1950) is a Burmese former politician and military officer, and previously served as Pyithu Hluttaw MP for Hinthada constituency from 2011 to 2016. He also served as Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation of Myanmar f ...

and

Aye Myint Thura Aye Myint () was the Minister of Labour of Burmese from 2013 to 2016. Aye Myint contested the 2010 Burmese general election as a Union Solidarity and Development Party candidate, winning a Pyithu Hluttaw seat for the Mawlamyine Township co ...

, replacing former 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 ...

Personal life

Myat Hain is married to Htwe Htwe Nyunt.

References

Burmese generals Air force generals Living people Defence Services Academy alumni People from Bago Region 1955 births Government ministers of Myanmar Union Solidarity and Development Party politicians {{Burma-bio-stub