In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 24 June 1951
- Died
- 7 August 2025
- Birthplace
- Mandalay, Union of Burma
- Country
- Myanmar
- Nationality
- Burmese
- Known for
- Declaring the February 2021 state of emergency used to transfer power to Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing
- Born
- 24 June 1951 · official biography
- First vice-president
- 2016—2021
- Acting president
- March 2018; disputed from 2021
- Died
- 7 August 2025 · Naypyidaw
Why this life matters
Myint Swe’s acting presidency is central to the military’s legal narrative of the coup and to the UN finding that the transfer violated Myanmar’s own Constitution.
Timeline
Key moments
Born in Mandalay
The official posthumous biography gives 24 June, correcting the inconsistent May date in some datasets.
Commissioned as an officer
Completed the Defence Services Academy’s fifteenth intake and began active military service.
Held senior security commands
Led military-affairs security and later Bureau of Special Operations No. 5.
Became Yangon chief minister
Entered the first government formed under the 2008 Constitution.
Elected first vice-president
The military bloc nominated him and the presidential electoral college placed him second.
Served briefly as acting president
Performed the office between Htin Kyaw’s resignation and Win Myint’s election.
Declared a state of emergency
Acted as president after Win Myint’s detention and transferred authority to Min Aung Hlaing.
Died after prolonged illness
Died at a military hospital in Naypyidaw on 7 August, aged seventy-four.
Military career and command in Yangon
Myint Swe was born in Mandalay on 24 June 1951, according to the official biography published after his death. He entered the Defence Services Academy in 1969 and was commissioned in 1973. His career progressed through line and staff roles, including simultaneous command of the 11th Light Infantry Division and service on the general staff between 1998 and 2001.
He commanded the South-East and Yangon regions, then served as chief of military-affairs security while retaining responsibility in Yangon. From 2006 to 2011 he led Bureau of Special Operations No. 5. These posts placed him inside the security establishment during the final years of direct SPDC rule, including the 2007 protest crackdown in the former capital.
Chief minister and military-selected vice-president
The transition under the 2008 Constitution moved Myint Swe from uniformed command into regional government. He served as the first chief minister of Yangon Region from 2011 to 2016. The position connected the former commander to administration of Myanmar’s largest city while President Thein Sein’s government pursued economic and political reforms within the military-designed system.
After the NLD won the 2015 election, the military members of parliament nominated Myint Swe for vice-president. The electoral college selected Htin Kyaw as president, with Myint Swe first vice-president and Henry Van Thio second vice-president. When Htin Kyaw resigned in March 2018, Myint Swe served as acting president for nine days until parliament elected Win Myint. That first acting term followed the ordinary succession rule and was not constitutionally disputed.
The disputed presidency of 1 February 2021
Soldiers detained President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected leaders before parliament could open on 1 February 2021. The military then treated the presidency as vacant and installed Myint Swe as acting president. He convened a military-only meeting of the National Defence and Security Council, declared a state of emergency and transferred state authority to Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing.
The UN Special Rapporteur concluded that the sequence was unlawful under the 2008 Constitution. Win Myint had neither resigned nor been removed through parliamentary impeachment, so the office had not become vacant under Article 73. The report also found that Myint Swe lacked authority to invoke Article 417 and that the required constitutional process was not followed. His title must therefore be described with its contested legal basis, not simply recorded as an ordinary succession.
Illness, delegated duties and death
Myint Swe remained the military administration’s formal acting or pro tem president while Min Aung Hlaing exercised governing power. State media reported neurological illness from early 2023 and medical leave from July 2024. Presidential duties were transferred to Min Aung Hlaing during that leave, further reducing an office that had already functioned mainly as constitutional presentation for military rule.
Myint Swe died on 7 August 2025 at a military hospital in Naypyidaw. He was given a state funeral. His death ended the personal link the military had used between the pre-coup vice-presidency and the emergency regime. His legacy is consequently institutional rather than programmatic: a career officer whose formal acts supplied the junta’s legal narrative, even as United Nations analysis found that narrative incompatible with the Constitution it invoked.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Myint Swe
- Who was Myint Swe?
- Myint Swe was a military officer, first vice-president and disputed acting president. Myint Swe’s acting presidency is central to the military’s legal narrative of the coup and to the UN finding that the transfer violated Myanmar’s own Constitution.
- What is Myint Swe best known for?
- Myint Swe is best known for declaring the February 2021 state of emergency used to transfer power to Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing.
- When and where was Myint Swe born?
- Myint Swe was born on 24 June 1951 in Mandalay, Union of Burma.
- When did Myint Swe die?
- Myint Swe died on 7 August 2025.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Myanmar Ministry of InformationBrief biography of late U Myint Swe
- 2. Myanmar Ministry of InformationStatement on the health condition of U Myint Swe
- 3. UN Human Rights Council · Special Rapporteur on MyanmarIllegal and Illegitimate · legal analysis of the 2021 takeover
- 4. Associated PressMyanmar’s acting president Myint Swe dies after a long illness
- 5. Asian Development Bank Law and Policy Reform ProgramConstitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008)
- 6. Wikimedia Commons2012 arrival ceremony photograph and public-domain record
