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Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services | |
---|---|
တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ် | |
![]() Flag of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services | |
since 30 March 2011 | |
Style | His Excellency |
Type | Supreme Commander |
Abbreviation | C-in-C DS |
Member of | National Defence and Security Council |
Seat | Naypyidaw, Myanmar |
Nominator | National Defence and Security Council |
Appointer | State President |
Formation | 1945 |
First holder | Major General Aung San |
Unofficial names | တပ်ချုပ်၊ကာချုပ် |
Deputy | Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services |
Website | Official website |
The commander-in-chief of defence services (Burmese: တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ်, romanized: Tatmadaw Kakweyay Uzigyoke) is the supreme commander of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. The Tatmadaw is an independent branch of government under control of the commander-in-chief, though certain actions of the commander-in-chief require the approval of the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC).
According to the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, the commander-in-chief is appointed by the president upon nomination by the NDSC, chaired by the President; the Commander-in-Chief is also a member of the NDSC. Article 418 of the 2008 Constitution allows the Commander-in-Chief broad authority over the government if the president declares a state of emergency in coordination with the NDSC. This happened after the 2021 coup d'état: military-installed acting president Myint Swe declared a state of emergency and transferred power to Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who then formed a military junta—the State Administration Council.[1][2][3]
The current Commander-in-Chief is Min Aung Hlaing, since 30 March 2011.[4] By law, the Commander-in-Chief must be under the age of 65.[5] However, Min Aung Hlaing, who turned 65 on 3 July 2021, has remained in office.
No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services[6] | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aung San (1915–1947) [a] | Major General1945 | 19 July 1947 † | 2 years | ![]() Patriotic Burmese Forces | |
2 | Let Yar (1911–1978) [b] | Brigadier19 July 1947 | 4 January 1948 | 169 days | ![]() Burma Army | |
3 | Smith Dun (1906–1979) [c] | Lieutenant General4 January 1948 | 31 January 1949 | 1 year, 27 days | ![]() Burma Army | |
4 | Ne Win (1910–2002) [d] | General1 February 1949 | 20 April 1972 | 23 years, 79 days | ![]() Burma Army | |
5 | San Yu (1918–1996) [e] | General20 April 1972 | 1 March 1974 | 1 year, 315 days | ![]() Burma Army | |
6 | Tin Oo (1927–2024) [f] | General1 March 1974 | 6 March 1976 | 2 years, 5 days | ![]() Burma Army | |
7 | Kyaw Htin (1925–1996) | General6 March 1976 | 3 November 1985 | 9 years, 242 days | ![]() Burma Army | |
8 | Saw Maung (1928–1997) | Senior General4 November 1985 | 22 April 1992 | 6 years, 170 days | ![]() | |
9 | Than Shwe (born 1933) | Senior General22 April 1992 | 30 March 2011 | 18 years, 342 days | ![]() | |
10 | Min Aung Hlaing (born 1956) | Senior General30 March 2011 | Incumbent | 14 years, 158 days | ![]() |