San Yu (, ; 3 March 1918 – 28 January 1996) was a Burmese army

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 ...

and statesman who served as the fifth president of Myanmar from 9 November 1981 to 27 July 1988.

Biography

San Yu, an ethnic Burmese, was born in Thegon during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. He was born to a U Shane Wat and Daw Thein Shein. He studied medicine at Rangoon University's Medical College for two years.

Military career

San Yu joined Burma Independence Army in 1942 from his hometown Prome (now

Pyay Pyay, and formerly anglicised as Prome, is the principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Ayeyarwady Delta, Centr ...

) and became a second lieutenant of 3rd Burma Rifle Battalion on 14 January 1946. Throughout his army career, San Yu rose through the rank quickly due to his steadfast loyalty towards his superiors. On 23 January 1947, San Yu was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and became deputy company commander in the same battalion and on 24 February 1949, three years after joining the army, he was promoted to the rank of Major and became Deputy Battalion Commander of 3rd Burma Rifle. He was made lieutenant colonel on 25 November 1949 and given the command of 1st Karenni Rifle Battalion. He was then transferred to 1st Kachin Rifle Battalion on 22 December 1950. Throughout 1950 and 1951, he served under Brigadier 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 ...

's Northern Regional Military Command in various capacities. He was then transferred to Military Appointment General's office within the Ministry of Defense on 17 September 1952. On 9 March 1956, he was promoted to 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 became the Commander of Northern Regional Military Command on 25 February 1959. He was promoted to brigadier general on 9 April 1959. He then became commander of 1st Infantry Brigade on 16 August 1961, commander of Eastern Regional Military Command on 16 October 1961 and commander of North West Regional Military Command on 29 November 1961. After the 1962 military coup, Brigadier General San Yu became Deputy Chief of Staff of the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

on 15 February 1963. He was promoted to the rank of general and became Commander in Chief of the

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 ...

(Armed Forces) on 20 April 1972, and also Minister of Defense.

Civilian career

Brigadier General San Yu was a founding member of the General

's 17 members Union Revolutionary Council (RC) that came to power after the military coup overthrowing the civilian government of Prime Minister

U Nu Nu (; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as Burmese names#Honorifics, U Nu and also by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a prominent Burmese people, Burmese statesman and the first Prime Minister of Union of Burma. He was ...

on 2 March 1962. He was Minister of Finance from 1963 to 1972. He was appointed as Chairman of the 'New State Constitution Drafting Commission' (NSCDC) which was formed by the Revolutionary Council on 25 September 1971. During the years 1971 to 1973, He travelled extensively throughout Burma as Chairman of NSCDC during the 'drafting process' of Constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, better known as 1974 Burmese Constitution. On 20 April 1972, the Revolutionary Council made an announcement that Brigadier General San Yu was promoted to General.21-04-1972 The ''Working People's Daily'' newspaper General San Yu became general secretary of the Council of State for 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 ...

, better known as BSPP, on 26 April 1974 was transferred to Office of the State Council. He retired from the Army on 3 March 1978. In the closing day of the Fourth Congress of the BSPP,

also announced his intention to retire from the position of 'President of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma' after the 'elections' in October 1981. On 9 November 1981 the then Burmese Legislature ('' Pyithu Hluttaw'') elected San Yu as the President of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. He served in that position until 27 July 1988 and in the post-independence period he became, after Ne Win (who was president from 4 March 1974 to 9 November 1981) the second-longest serving president in post-independent Burma. Ne Win remained chairman of the BSPP, and it was generally understood that he still held the real power. In the fifth BSPP Congress that was held in August 1985 San Yu was formally elected as

vice chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of BSPP. From then on till his retirement from both the Party (BSPP) and State positions San Yu was termed in the media as Vice Chairman of Burma Socialist Programme Party, President and Chairman of the Council of State, under the provision of the 1974 Constitution the Chairman of the Council of State is also the President of the Republic. On 23 July 1988, in the opening day of the BSPP Congress, an announcement made by

that San Yu along with four other Party and State leaders had expressed the wish to retire from both Party and State positions. Though the BSPP Congress rejected the resignations or requests for permission to retire of U Aye Ko, general secretary and Vice President of the State, U

Sein Lwin Sein Lwin (, ; 27 January 1924 – 9 April 2004) was a Burmese politician and retired military general in the Myanmar Army. He was served as the sixth president of Burma for 17 days in 1988, following the resignation of San Yu. Sein Lwin was ...

, Joint General Secretary of BSPP and secretary of the Council of State, U Tun Tin, BSPP Central Executive Committee member and Deputy Prime Minister, U Kyaw Htin, BSPP Central Executive Committee Member and Defence Minister, the congress accepted the resignations of

and San Yu from party and state positions. After his retirement, throughout the turmoil that ensued the 1988 pro-democracy demonstrations and military coup, San Yu stayed out of the political societies and lived with his family in his suburban

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 ...

home. He followed the path set by Buddhism and died peacefully on 28 January 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Yu Burma Socialist Programme Party politicians Burmese generals Burmese politicians of Chinese descent Defence ministers of Myanmar 1918 births 1996 deaths Presidents of Myanmar Finance ministers of Myanmar People from Bago Region Burmese collaborators with Imperial Japan