State Counsellor of Myanmar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids State Counsellor of Myanmar
Incumbent Vacant since 1 February 2021
Style	His/Her Excellency (formal) State Counsellor (informal)
Residence	Naypyidaw
Nominator	Assembly of the Union
Appointer	President of Myanmar
Term length	Equivalent to incumbent President (5 years, renewable once)
Inaugural holder	Aung San Suu Kyi
Formation	6 April 2016

The state counsellor of Myanmar (Burmese: နိုင်ငံတော်၏ အတိုင်ပင်ခံပုဂ္ဂိုလ်) was the title of the de facto head of government of Myanmar, equivalent to a prime minister. The office is currently vacant following the arrest of the first and only state counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The office was created in 2016 since the Constitution of Myanmar prohibits Suu Kyi from assuming the presidency. The officeholder could “contact ministries, departments, organizations, associations and individuals” in an official capacity, while being accountable to parliament.

Background

The post was created on 6 April 2016 to allow for a greater role for Aung San Suu Kyi within the Government of Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in the 2015 Myanmar general election; however she is constitutionally barred from becoming President of Myanmar as her late husband Michael Aris was British and her two children also hold British nationality.

The bill to create the post was passed by the upper house of the Assembly of the Union on 1 April 2016 and by the lower house on 5 April 2016, and signed by President Htin Kyaw on 6 April 2016. The law explicitly references Aung San Suu Kyi, and references several priorities, including cultivation of a multi-party democratic system, proper implementation of a market economy system, establishment of a federal union, and establishment of domestic peace and development.

Roles and responsibilities

The post of is similar to that of a prime minister in that it allows the holder to work across all areas of government and to act as a link between the executive and legislative branches. The State Counsellor has a term of five years, the same term as that of the President.

List of state counsellors

Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of Office			Political Party	Cabinet		President	Assembly
		Term start	Term end	Term in office
	Aung San Suu Kyi (1945–)	6 April 2016	1 February 2021	4 years, 301 days	National League for Democracy	II	NLD—Mil.	Htin Kyaw, Win Myint	2 (2015)
		Prior to being removed from office in a coup d'état on 1 February 2021, Aung San Suu Kyi concurrently served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and for the Office of the President as well as leader of the majority party, the National League for Democracy.

See also

In Spanish: Consejero de Estado de Birmania para niños