Mahn Win Khaing Than (Burmese: မန်းဝင်းခိုင်သန်း [máɴ wɪ́ɴ kʰàɪɴ θáɴ] and also spelled Mahn Win Khine Than or Mann Win Khaing Thann) is a Myanmar politician and lawyer who is serving as the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar, a government in exile. An ethnic Karen, he served as the Speaker of the Assembly of the Union from 2016 to 2018 and the Speaker of the House of Nationalities on behalf of Kayin State from 2016 until his removal from office in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.

Win Khaing Than
မန်းဝင်းခိုင်သန်း
Win Khaing Than in 2021
Prime Minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar
Assumed office
16 April 2021
PresidentDuwa Lashi La (acting)
Preceded byOffice established
Vice President and Acting President in the Acting Cabinet of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
In office
9 March 2021 – 16 April 2021
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byDuwa Lashi La (NUG)
2nd Speaker of the House of Nationalities
In office
3 February 2016 – 31 January 2021
DeputyAye Thar Aung
Preceded byKhin Aung Myint
3rd Speaker of the Assembly of the Union
In office
8 February 2016 – 1 August 2018
DeputyAye Thar Aung
Preceded byShwe Mann
Succeeded byT Khun Myat
Amyotha Hluttaw MP
In office
3 February 2016 – 1 February 2021
ConstituencyKayin State No. 8
Myawaddy Township
Personal details
Born (1952-04-23) April 23, 1952 (age 72)
Hinthada Township, Ayeyarwady Division, Burma (now Myanmar)
Political partyNational League for Democracy
SpouseNant Kyin Kyi
RelationsMahn Ba Khaing (Grandfather)
Parent(s)Mahn Than Shein, Nant Khin Yee Khaing
Alma materRangoon Arts and Science University
OccupationPolitician, lawyer

Early life edit

Mahn Win Khaing Than was born on 23 April 1952 in Hinthada Township, Ayeyarwady Division. He is an ethnic Karen, a Christian, and also the grandson of Mahn Ba Khaing. Mahn Ba Khaing served as Minister for Industry and Minister for Labor in the pre-independence cabinet of the AFPFL government; and was assassinated alongside Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, on 19 July 1947 in the Secretariat, Yangon.[1][2] Mahn Win Khaing Than graduated from the Rangoon Arts and Science University with a law degree in 1975.

Career edit

He formerly served as the secretary of the Karen Literature and Culture Association, and joined the Union Karen League in 1990, which contested in the elections that same year. Then, he joined the National League for Democracy in 2013 and contested for the first time in the 2015 elections.[3] In the 2015 election, he contested and won the Kayin State No. 8 constituency for a seat in the country's upper house.[4][1][5][6]

Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état on 1 February, Mahn Win Khaing Than went into hiding with fellow senior National League for Democracy officials who also escaped arrest.[7]

On 9 March 2021,[8] Mahn Win Khaing Than was named Acting Vice-President of Myanmar by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a government in exile[9][10][11] composed of ousted National League for Democracy lawmakers who won seats in the 2020 elections.[7]

On 16 April 2021, Mahn Win Khaing Than was appointed as the Prime Minister of Myanmar (not as State Counsellor of Myanmar) by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw as part of the newly-formed National Unity Government.[12]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Lun Min Mang. "Meet the Speakers".
  2. ^ "NLD names nominees for key posts". The Straits Times. 29 January 2016.
  3. ^ "The Would-Be Leaders of Burma's New Parliament". The Irrawaddy.
  4. ^ "Myanmar to embark on a new chapter as parliament convenes". Mizzima.
  5. ^ "ANP Riven by Power Politics as New Government's Term Approaches". The Irrawaddy.
  6. ^ "NLD confirms parliament speakers; Nominee for deputy parliament speaker T Khun Myat unclear from opium". Eleven Myanmar. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  7. ^ a b
  8. ^ "မန်းဝင်းခိုင်သန်းကို ဒုတိယသမ္မတအဖြစ် CRPH တင်မြှောက်". Radio Free Asia (in Burmese).
  9. ^ "Myanmar court files more charges against Suu Kyi, police crack down on protests". Reuters. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Myanmar coup latest: Bloodiest day since the Feb. 1 coup". Nikkei Asia. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  11. ^ Axelrod, Tal (13 March 2021). "Exiled leader of Myanmar's civilian government vows 'revolution' to overturn military rule". The Hill. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  12. ^ "အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ NUG ဖွဲ့စည်းကြောင်း CRPH ကြေညာ". Radio Free Asia (in Burmese).