Soe Win
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| Soe Win | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Khin Nyunt |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | Birth date?, 1948 Birthplace? |
| Political party | Appointed by State Peace and Development Council |
| Spouse | ? |
| Religion | Buddhist |
General Soe Win (Burmese: စုိးဝင္း; IPA: [sóu wín]; born c. 1948) is the Prime Minister of Myanmar. He was appointed by the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Than Shwe on October 19, 2004 and is reported to be a close associate of the Chairman.
He is expected to take a tougher line against political reform in Myanmar than did his immediate precessor, Khin Nyunt. He is quoted as saying (in January 2003) "the SPDC not only won’t talk to the NLD (National League for Democracy) but also would never handover power to the NLD." He was accused of conspiring to crush the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi at Depayin Massacre: [1] on May 6, 2002.
Before his appointment as prime minister in October, Soe Win was best known for his part in the crackdown on democracy protestors in 1988—deploying troops around Rangoon University and ordering them to shoot at Rangoon General Hospital during the upheaval.
A graduate of the Defense Services Academy (12th intake), he became Tactical Operations Commander 3 of the Northwestern Regional Command in 1990. In 1997 he was named Regional Commander and a member of the junta. In November 2001 he was named Air Defense General of the War Office. In February 2003 he was promoted to Secretary-2 of the junta, which was vacant after Lt-Gen Tin Oo was killed in a helicopter crash two years before.
He is a senior member of the USDA and is close to Than Shwe. The two men see eye-to-eye on “nation building projects”, which include constructing dams, roads and bridges. He is widely regarded as the mastermind behind the deadly attack against Suu Kyi and her supporters in Depayin in May 2003. The same year he accompanied Than Shwe on state visits to Vietnam and China. Soe Win also signed the order to dismiss Foreign Minister Win Aung and his deputy in September.
A devout Buddhist, Soe Win upped the persecution against the predominantly Christian Chin when he was the Northwestern Regional Commander in Chin State.
Previous career landmarks:
- chairman of Sagaing Division Law and Order Restoration Council
- commander of Northwest Command (1997)
- Air Defense General in the SPDC (November 2001)
- Secretary-2, SPDC (February 2003)
- Secretary-1, SPDC (August 2003)
| Myanmar |
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| Preceded by Khin Nyunt |
Prime Minister of Myanmar (Burma) 2004– |
Succeeded by Current Incumbent |
