President of Myanmar facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Flag of Myanmar
State seal of Myanmar
Incumbent Min Aung Hlaing since 22 July 2024
Style	His Excellency (formal)
Member of	Cabinet (normally) National Defence and Security Council
Residence	Presidential Palace
Seat	Naypyidaw
Nominator	Assembly of the Union
Appointer	Presidential Electoral College
Term length	Five years, renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Myanmar
Precursor	Governor of Burma
Formation	4 January 1948; 77 years ago (1948-01-04)
First holder	Sao Shwe Thaik
Deputy	Vice President
Salary	K5 million/US$ 2,385 per month

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The President of Myanmar (Burmese: နိုင်ငံတော်‌ သမ္မတ; MLCTS: nuing ngam tau samma.ta.) is the top leader of the country. This person is both the head of state and the main leader of the government in Myanmar. The president usually leads the Cabinet of Myanmar, which is like the main team that runs the government. They also lead the National Defence and Security Council, which makes important decisions about the country's safety.

Currently, Min Aung Hlaing is the acting president. He is also the head of the military and the prime minister. He took over from Myint Swe in July 2024. Myint Swe became acting president after a military takeover in February 2021. Even though the president's job is usually very powerful, under the current military government, it is mostly a symbolic role. The main action the president has taken recently is to declare and extend a state of emergency.

The president is not chosen directly by the people of Myanmar. Instead, members of parliament elect the president. A special group called the Presidential Electoral College does this. This group has three committees, and each committee suggests a candidate for president.

After the 2015 election, a new position was created called State Counsellor of Myanmar. This was for Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the leader of the winning party, the National League for Democracy. She could not become president herself, so she became the de facto (meaning "in fact") head of government. She held this role until the military takeover in 2021. After the takeover, Min Aung Hlaing created new positions for himself to lead the government.

Understanding the President's Role
Who Can Be President?
How the President Is Chosen
A Look at Myanmar's Presidential History
List of Presidents of Myanmar
See also

Understanding the President's Role

The president is the most important leader in Myanmar. This position was created in 1948 when Myanmar became independent from the United Kingdom. Since then, eleven different people have served as president. Some have even held the job more than once.

Myanmar has had long periods of military rule. Because of this, the prime minister was often a military officer. The actual power of the prime minister changed a lot depending on who was in charge. For example, in 2004, there was a power struggle between the military leader Than Shwe and the prime minister Khin Nyunt. This led to the prime minister being removed from his job.

The position of prime minister was removed in 2011 when the current Constitution was adopted. This constitution said that the president would be both the head of state and the head of government. However, after the 2015 election, the State Counsellor role was created for Aung San Suu Kyi. She was the main leader of the government until the 2021 military takeover. The president is the only one who can call meetings of the National Defence and Security Council. This council handles Myanmar's safety and defense.

Who Can Be President?

The Constitution of Myanmar lists the rules for who can become president. These rules are found in Chapter 1 of the Constitution. To be president, a person must meet these requirements:

They must be a citizen of Myanmar.
They must be at least 45 years old.
They must be able to be elected as a member of the National Assembly.

The Constitution also says the president must:

Be loyal to Myanmar and its people.
Be a citizen of Myanmar whose parents were both born in Myanmar and were Myanmar citizens.
Know a lot about Myanmar's politics, government, economy, and military.
Have lived in Myanmar for at least 20 years before being elected. (Time spent in another country with permission still counts).
Not have a parent, spouse, child, or their spouse who is loyal to a foreign country or is a citizen of a foreign country.
Have all the other qualifications needed to be elected to the Hluttaw (parliament).

Once someone becomes president, they are not allowed to take part in any political party activities. This rule is in Chapter III, Section 64 of the Constitution.

How the President Is Chosen

The people of Myanmar do not directly vote for the president. Instead, the president is chosen by the Presidential Electoral College (သမ္မတရွေးချယ်တင်မြှောက်ရေးအဖွဲ့). This group is made up of three different committees.

One committee has members of parliament (MPs) from each Region or State.
Another committee has MPs from each township.
The third committee has military-appointed MPs chosen by the Defence Services' commander-in-chief.

Each of these three committees suggests one person to be a presidential candidate. Then, all the MPs from the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (the national parliament) vote for one of these three candidates. The candidate who gets the most votes becomes president. The other two candidates become vice-presidents. The president serves for a term of five years.

If a president leaves office for any reason, like resigning or passing away, the Presidential Electoral College meets again. Each of the three committees will suggest a new candidate. The candidate with the most votes will then finish the rest of the previous president's term. This makes sure that the terms of the parliament and the president stay in sync.

This way of choosing a president is similar to what was in the 1947 Constitution. Back then, MPs from the parliament's two chambers voted for the president. The president then chose a prime minister to lead the government.

A Look at Myanmar's Presidential History

Before Myanmar became independent, it had different forms of government. After gaining independence in 1948, Myanmar adopted three constitutions: in 1947, 1974, and 2008. The 2008 constitution is the one currently in use.

Before Independence

Before 1863, different parts of Myanmar were ruled separately. From 1862 to 1923, the British colonial government was led by a chief commissioner or a lieutenant-governor. These leaders were under the Governor-General of India.

From 1937, Myanmar became a separate British colony. It had its own elected parliament. From 1923 to 1948, British Burma was led by a Governor. This Governor led the government and was in charge of defense, foreign relations, money, and ethnic regions. During World War II, when Japan occupied Myanmar, a Japanese military commander led the government. The British-appointed governor led the colony from exile.

Myanmar became independent in 1948. It had a president from 1948 to 1962, and then again from 1974 to 1988. Between 1962 and 1974, and from 1988 to 2011, Myanmar was ruled by military governments. The office of the president was brought back in 2011.

The 1947 Constitution

The 1947 constitution was used from 1948 until 1962. In 1962, the military government led by Ne Win stopped using this constitution. This constitution set up three parts of government: judicial (courts), legislative (law-making), and executive (carrying out laws). The legislative part was a two-chamber parliament called the Union Parliament. It had the 125-seat Chamber of Nationalities (လူမျိုးစုလွှတ်တော် Lumyozu Hluttaw) and the Chamber of Deputies (ပြည်သူ့လွှတ်တော် Pyithu Hluttaw).

The 1974 Constitution

The 1974 constitution was approved in a vote in 1973. It created a single-chamber parliament called the People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw). Members of this parliament were from the Burma Socialist Programme Party. Each term lasted four years. Ne Win became president under this constitution.

Between 1988 and 2008

When the military took power in September 1988, they stopped using the 1974 constitution. A group called the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) tried to create a new constitution in 1993. However, it was stopped in 1996 because the National League for Democracy (NLD) refused to take part, saying it was not democratic. Myanmar did not have a constitution again until 2008.

The 2008 Constitution

In April 2008, the military government of Myanmar released a new constitution. People voted on it in May 2008. The military said this constitution would bring back democracy. However, some people who opposed the military believed it would allow the military to keep control.

2012 By-elections

Even though the NLD had opposed the 2008 constitution, they took part in the 2012 by-election. They won a big victory, and Aung San Suu Kyi became a member of parliament along with 42 others from her party.

2015 Election

In March 2016, the Assembly of the Union elected Htin Kyaw as the 9th president of Myanmar. He resigned in March 2018, and Myint Swe became acting president. In March 2018, the Assembly of the Union elected Win Myint as the 10th president of Myanmar.