Tin Hla was a Lieutenant General in the Burmese army. He was also

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and Military Affairs Minister until November 2001.

Career

Tin Hla was the Deputy Prime Minister of Myanmar and the Minister of Military Affairs during

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 ...

's regime. He also took the position of Quartermaster-General and led the 22nd Light Infantry Division 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 ...

during the

8888 uprising The 8888 Uprising, also known as the People Power Uprising and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and ther ...

. He was also the founder and chairman of

Myanmar Economic Corporation The Myanmar Economic Corporation (; abbreviated MEC) is one of the two major conglomerate (company), conglomerates and holding companies operated by the Tatmadaw, Burmese military, the other being the Myanma Economic Holdings Limited. The U.S. Tre ...

(MEC). He was forced to retire in 2001, accused of corruption, together with Lieutenant General Win Myint, the fourth-highest officer and Secretary 3 of 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 ...

. The purging of these two from power was believed to be an effort by

Khin Nyunt Khin Nyunt (; ; born 23 October 1939) is a retired Burmese army general widely recognized for his influential role in shaping Myanmar's political dynamics. Serving as the Chief of Intelligence and Prime Minister of Myanmar from 25 August 2003 ...

the 9th Prime Minister of Burma (Myanmar) and his predecessor,

. Khin Nyunt later underwent house arrest and those falsely charged of various accusations were revealed to the public. While some analysts think that the sacking of the two powerful figures was to improve the business climate, others think that it was a clean-out of hardliners unhappy with the possibility of comprises with

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 ...

. Lt Gen Tin Hla, being a

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 ...

graduate, is considered as

Maung Aye Maung Aye (; ; born 25 December 1937) is a retired Burmese army general who played a significant role in Myanmar's military government. He served as Vice Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the ruling military junta of M ...

's man.

Personal

Tin Hla was born at

Thaton Thaton (; ) is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton lies along the National Highway 8 and is also connected by the National Road 85. It is southeast of Yangon and north of Mawlamyine. Thaton was the capit ...

, a town in

Mon State Mon State (, ; ) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to the north and Tanintharyi Region to the south, also having a short border with Thailand's Kanchanabu ...

Lower Burma Lower Myanmar (, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the country ( Rakhine and Mon States and Tanintharyi ...

, in 1939. He is married to Daw Win Kyi and had four children.

References

Living people 1939 births Burmese generals Deputy prime ministers of Myanmar People from Mon State {{Myanmar-politician-stub