Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing steps down, eyes presidency

TRUSTED LOYALIST

Min Aung Hlaing spent a decade jostling with civilian leaders before mounting his coup five years ago, jailing Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering a vicious civil war that is still being fought.

At the country’s national Armed Forces Day parade over the weekend in Naypyitaw, Min Aung Hlaing handed over the position of commander-in-chief of the armed forces to Ye Win Oo, a veteran officer.

“I will continue to serve the interests of the people, the military, and the national interests of the country,” he said in a speech broadcast by military-owned media.

Ye Win Oo was appointed Myanmar’s intelligence chief in 2020, and was promoted to commander-in-chief of the army earlier this month.

“The fact that he received two major promotions within two months clearly demonstrates that he is one of Min Aung Hlaing’s most trusted loyalists,” said Aung Kyaw Soe, an independent analyst.

A graduate of the Officer Training School – rather than the elite Defence Services Academy that has long been a crucible for the officer corps – Ye Win Oo previously led an infantry division and the Southwestern Command in the Ayeyarwady delta in the country’s south.

“Since the coup, he has retained the rank of general and held one of the most sensitive portfolios at the apex of the military administration,” the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar, a think tank based in Thailand, wrote in a March analysis.

“Even so, General Ye Win Oo appears to lack the breadth of leadership experience that spans both battlefield command and institutional administration.”