Khin Nyunt

In this Burmese name, the given name is Khin Nyunt. There is no family name.
His Excellency
General
Khin Nyunt
ခင်ညွန့်
Khin Nyunt in 2004
Prime Minister of Myanmar
In office
25 August 2003 – 18 October 2004
LeaderThan Shwe
Preceded byThan Shwe
Succeeded bySoe Win
Secretary 1 of the State Peace and Development Council
In office
15 November 1997 – 25 August 2003
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded bySoe Win
Secretary 1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council
In office
18 September 1988 – 15 November 1997
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Director of Defence Service Intelligence
In office
1984 – 18 October 2004
Preceded byKyaw Win
Succeeded byMyint Swe
Personal details
Born (1939-10-23) 23 October 1939 (age 85)
Kyauktan Township, British Burma (present-day Myanmar)
CitizenshipBurmese
SpouseKhin Win Shwe
ChildrenLt.-Col. Zaw Naing Oo, Dr. Ye Naing Win
Alma materOfficers Training School, Bahtoo
Military service
Allegiance Myanmar
Branch/service Myanmar Army
Years of service1960–2004
Rank General

Khin Nyunt (Burmese: ခင်ညွန့်; MLCTS: hkang nywan; pronounced [kʰɪ̀ɰ̃ ɲʊ̰ɰ̃]; born 23 October 1939)[1][2][3] is a retired Burmese army general widely recognized for his influential role in shaping Myanmar's political dynamics.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Serving as the Chief of Intelligence and Prime Minister of Myanmar from 25 August 2003 to 18 October 2004, he played a crucial part in the nation's history.[11][12][13] During his tenure, Khin Nyunt oversaw significant developments in Myanmar's intelligence and apparatus and government policies.[14][15][16][17] He was instrumental in implementing reforms aimed at modernizing intelligence operations and promoting national security interests.[18][19][20][21] However his leadership faced challenges, and he was eventually removed from power in 2004 amid political reshuffles within the ruling military junta.[22][23][24] Despite his removal from office, Khin Nyunt's legacy continued to be debated, with some viewing him as a reformist figure and others critiquing his approach to governance.[25][26][27]

Born on 23 October 1939 in Kyauktan Township, near Rangoon (now Yangon), His early life was marked by a unique cultural heritage.[28][29][30][31] Hailing from a family of Burmese Chinese descent, his parents were Hakkas from Meixian, Meizhou, Guangdong, China.[32][33][34][35] Khin Nyunt played a significant role in Myanmar's political landscape.[36][37][38] Khin Nyunt graduated from the 25th batch of the Officers Training School, Bahtoo, in 1960, after he dropped out of Yankin College in the 1950s, forging a path that would intertwine with intelligence operations and key political roles.[39][40][41] His military career led him to the position of Chief of Intelligence, where he played a crucial role in the country's internal security.[42][43][44] His political journey reached its pinnacle when he assumed the office of Prime Minister of Myanmar on 25 August 2003, succeeding Senior General Than Shwe.[45][46][47][48] However, his tenure was short-lived, lasting until 18 October 2004.[49][50][51] As Prime Minister, Khin Nyunt faced challenges and controversies, including the proposal of a seven-point roadmap to democracy, criticized for its perceived lack of clarity and military involvement.[52][53][54][55] His leadership oversaw the recalling of the suspended National Convention, influencing Myanmar's political trajectory.[56][57][58][59] Dismissed from power on 18 October 2004 amid internal military struggles, Khin Nyunt faced corruption charges and received a 44-year prison sentence.[60][61][62][63][64] Released from house arrest on 13 January 2012, he entered a new phase, establishing a presence in Yangon with a coffee shop, art gallery, and souvenir shop.[65][66][67][68][69][70] In an interview in April 2012, Khin Nyunt claimed that he personally intervened to save Aung San Suu Kyi's life during the Depayin massacre, by ordering his men to take her to a safe location.

  1. ^ Hmaw Win Thar U Khin Nyunt (April 2015). ကြုံတွေ့ခဲ့ရ ကျွန်တော့ဘဝအထွေထွေ [My life, my experiences (third edition)] (in Burmese). Yangon: 100 kinds of flowers publishing house (ပန်းမျိုးတစ်ရာစာပေ). p. 36. "...ဦးဘညွန့်(ရှေ့နေ)၊ မိခင် ဒေါ်သိန်းရှင်တို့က ၁၃၀၁ ခုနှစ် သီတင်းကျွတ်လဆန်း ၁၁ ရက်နေ့မှာ မွေးဖွားခဲ့တာပါ။..."
  2. ^ Than Win Hlaing (November 2014). ဦးခင်ညွန့် (သို့မဟုတ်) ရက်စက်မှုအပေါင်းသရဖူဆောင်းခဲ့သူ [U Khin Nyunt (or) the one crowned with extreme cruelty (first edition)] (in Burmese). Yangon: U Lwin Oo (Lwin Oo publishing house). p. 23. ...Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, erroneously described his birthdate as 11 October 1939
  3. ^ Shah Paung (25 May 2006). "Karen National Union leader Gen Bo Mya and a 20-member delegation brokered an informal ceasefire agreement with then prime minister Khin Nyunt in January 2004". The Irrawaddy.
  4. ^ Andrew Selth (2019). "Secrets and Power in Myanmar: Intelligence and the Fall of General Khin Nyunt". ISEAS Publishing.
  5. ^ "Late in 2000 the SPDC initiated secret talks with Aung San Suu Kyi (during another period of house arrest), and in 2001 it released approximately 200 political prisoners, evidently as a result of its negotiations with her. The potential for further democratic advancement emerged when General Khin Nyunt was named prime minister in 2003. He promised to usher the country toward a new constitution and free elections, but his rule was cut short by allegations of corruption. In late 2004 he too was placed under house arrest and was replaced by General Soe Win". Britannica.
  6. ^ "Nyunt, Khin| Sciences Po Violence de masse et Résistance". SciencesPo. 19 October 2009.
  7. ^ "'We Restored Order' In a rare interview, Myanmar's General Khin Nyunt goes on the defensive". BBC News. 17 December 1999.
  8. ^ Andrew Selth. "The Fall of General Khin Nyunt". De Gruyter. doi:10.1355/9789814843799-006.
  9. ^ "The military government in Rangoon has been quick to blame ethnic armed groups the Karen National Union, Karenni National Progressive Party, Shan State Army-South and the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. Each of the groups has denied responsibility and in turn blamed the ruling junta. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, though some observers in Rangoon believe former Military Intelligence members, unhappy with last October's sacking of Military Chief General Khin Nyunt, may be behind the attacks. Meanwhile, some residents believe that the blasts illustrate a lack of effective security systems following the disbanding of MI". The Irrawaddy. 8 May 2005.
  10. ^ "Sources said that Reed met with General Maung Aye in 1995 at the UN General Assembly and, in 2002, he attended an event marking United Nations Day in Rangoon as the guest of then Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt". The Irrawaddy. 29 September 2009.
  11. ^ Andrew Selth (May 2019). "Myanmar's intelligence apparatus and the fall of General Khin Nyunt". ResearchGate.
  12. ^ Aung Zaw (January 2008). "At the same time, Aung San's daughter, Suu Kyi, who had returned from London to nurse her ailing mother, also gave an unforgettable speech, saying: "This national crisis could, in fact, be called the second struggle for national independence." Although Ne Win's "Burmese Way to Socialism" program was thrown out, his dynasty and the military dictatorship went on. Senior General Saw Maung, General Khin Nyunt and Senior General Than Shwe, all emerged, not as saviors of Burma, but as ghosts of Prendergast who had stolen the nation's independence". The Irrawaddy.
  13. ^ Wai Moe (9 January 2009). "Tens of thousands of Burmese pilgrims crossed into Thailand this week to attend celebrations marking the 46th birthday of a monk who was once a close spiritual adviser of Burma's ousted prime minister and military intelligence chief, General Khin Nyunt". The Irrawaddy.
  14. ^ "The Day Myanmar's Military Intelligence Chief was Sacked". The Irrawaddy. 19 October 2020.
  15. ^ Aung Zaw (4 February 2011). "Burma's Puppet Show". The Irrawaddy.
  16. ^ "Three Burmese state-run newspapers on Sunday published the full speech made by Defense Services Chief of Staff General Thura Shwe Mann to a meeting of Burmese businessmen on October 24. The address explained the government's justification for the October 18 palace coup that ousted Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt, who concurrently headed the Office of the Chief of Military Intelligence, or OCMI". The Irrawaddy. 8 November 2004.
  17. ^ "Senior General Than Shwe, head of the junta, has alerted all the country's military command headquarters that his deputy, Vice Senior General Maung Aye, will be unable to visit, according to the BBC. The BBC said that its sources suspect Maung Aye is under house arrest. The sources also speculate that Maung Aye may soon be purged because former Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt was also sacked on grounds of "poor health" last October, although later announcements claimed he was ousted due to corruption". The Irrawaddy. 2 February 2005.
  18. ^ "When Burma's former head of military intelligence and prime minister Khin Nyunt was purged from the ruling regime in 2004, his successor, then General Thura Shwe Mann, famously said that in Burma, as in other civilized countries, "no one is above the law."". The Irrawaddy. 28 January 2011.
  19. ^ Wai Moe (5 November 2009). "A Victim of the Junta's Dog-Eat-Dog World". The Irrawaddy.
  20. ^ Aung Zaw (21 October 2004). "The sacking of Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt this week came as no great surprise. What did come as a surprise, however, was that the state-run press simply said that he was "permitted… to retire on health grounds", and that no further news has been reported. As Burma's spymaster for 20 years, the energetic Khin Nyunt showed no signs of slowing down, recently traveling the country and carrying out his daily duties as normal. Rather, the dismissal was the result of a power struggle between Khin Nyunt and Deputy Senior General Maung Aye, who is the vice-chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, and the army chief. Legions of officers associated with the ousted PM have been detained. This is not a matter of health, this is a purge". The Irrawaddy.
  21. ^ Aung Zaw (8 May 2006). "Burma's Breakthrough Hijacked". The Irrawaddy.
  22. ^ Andrew Selth (28 March 2019). "Myanmar's intelligence apparatus since the fall of General Khin Nyunt in 2004". Griffith University.
  23. ^ Wai Moe (August 2010). "Explosive Uncertainty". The Irrawaddy.
  24. ^ Clive Parker (October 2005). "One year ago the Myanmar Times might have been forgiven for feeling optimistic. The paper was about to relocate to bigger premises in downtown Rangoon to accommodate a swelling team of reporters, while a printing press was making its way from New Zealand that would allow Editor-in-Chief Ross Dunkley and his team to publish in-house for the first time. That was, however, before Monday, October 18, 2004—the day former prime minister and head of Military Intelligence General Khin Nyunt was arrested for corruption". The Irrawaddy.
  25. ^ Tianlei Huang (5 November 2019). "Secrets and Power in Myanmar: Intelligence and the Fall of General Khin Nyunt". New Mandala.
  26. ^ Andrew Selth, May 2019. "Myanmar's intelligence apparatus and the fall of General Khin Nyunt". ResearchGate.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ "Burmese PM 'removed from office'". The Guardian. 19 October 2004.
  28. ^ Myint Shwe (8 April 2012). "In his own words: the rise and fall of Khin Nyunt". Bangkok Post.
  29. ^ Donald M. Seekins (2002). "MYANMAR: Secret Talks and Political Paralysis". Southeast Asian Affairs: 199–212. JSTOR 27913209.
  30. ^ "Khin Nyunt: Free, but Still Deeply Unpopular". The Irrawaddy. 13 January 2012.
  31. ^ "Heroes and Villains – When asked by a foreign journalist if the NLD would require putting the military on trial for past crimes, Kyi Maung said: "Here in Burma, we do not need any Nuremberg-style tribunal." Then Military Intelligence Chief Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt took exception to the remark. Kyi Maung was arrested and sentenced to 17 years in prison. After his early release in 1995, Kyi Maung characterized his approach to politics in this way: "Look, it's a game, and we're players in the game. So, let's play it without so much ego and without nonsense." He retired from the NLD two years later, but remained active in politics and conducted research on the Burmese military for the rest of his life. He died at his home on August 19, 2004, at age 85". The Irrawaddy. March 2007.
  32. ^ Barbara Victor (21 November 1996). "Q & A / General Khin Nyunt : Burma:An Inside View Of the Military's Control". The New York Times.
  33. ^ Hannah Beech (30 May 2013). "Burma's Feared Ex-Spy Chief Finds a New Life as a Gallery Owner". TIME.
  34. ^ Aung Zaw (March 2010). "The Simple Soldier – In the early 1980s, a bitter power struggle between the intelligence wing and the army forced Ne Win to make a dramatic reshuffle in the cabinet and armed forces. Some top commanders who were locked into the fight were removed and many mid-level officers, including Than Shwe, were promoted. This was when a number of future leading lights began to move into prominence. Gen Saw Maung, the first chairman of the current military regime before he was succeeded by Than Shwe in 1992, and Col Khin Nyunt, who later became military intelligence chief, were among the beneficiaries of Ne Win's last big shakeup before he fell from power in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising". The Irrawaddy.
  35. ^ Wai Moe (19 July 2011). "Military Intelligence's Ethnic Affairs Experts Released". The Irrawaddy.
  36. ^ "As number three in the hierarchy of a regime known best for its brutality, General Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's prime minister and head of military intelligence, was no cuddly liberal. But his ousting on October 19th, to be replaced by General Soe Win, a martinet identified with the army's hardliners, leaves a sense of deep foreboding about the country's future". The Economist. 21 October 2004.
  37. ^ "Ex PM Khin Nyunt sentenced to a 44 years suspended prison term". AsiaNews. 25 July 2005.
  38. ^ Andy Wong (19 October 2004). "Myanmar prime minister ousted, Thais report". NBC News.
  39. ^ "Burma Intelligence Chief Visits Thailand - 2001-09-03". VOA News. 31 October 2009.
  40. ^ Zaw Oo (23 October 2004). "Power struggle : Is history repeating itself in Myanmar". The New York Times.
  41. ^ Ko Htwe (10 August 2010). "Former Military Intelligence chief and Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt built an enclosure for the elephants on Min Dhamma hill in Rangoon's Insein Township. A male elephant is now 18 years old, and two females are 32 and 15. The elephants brought Khin Nyunt no good fortune, however. He was ousted in 2004 and is now under house arrest". The Irrawaddy.
  42. ^ William Barnes (19 October 2004). "Burma's prime minister replaced by hardliner". Financial Times.
  43. ^ Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew (21 October 2004). "Malaysia should obtain a direct explanation from Burma military government over the arrest of its Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt". DAP Malaysia.
  44. ^ Shawn L. Nance (February 2005). "Tough at the Top – Prime Minister Soe Win may follow predecessor Khin Nyunt into the wilderness. While reported differences between the Burmese regime's top two leaders, Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Dep Snr-Gen Maung Aye, remain the focus of speculation in Rangoon, the fate of Prime Minister Lt-Gen Soe Win is also intriguing. Rumors also abound about what exactly is happening to his disgraced predecessor, Gen Khin Nyunt". The Irrawaddy.
  45. ^ "Burma Announces Dismissal of Prime Minister". VOA News. 29 October 2009.
  46. ^ "Myanmar's new PM to tackle Suu Kyi". Al Jazeera News. 27 August 2003.
  47. ^ "Full Support for Ex-Spy Chief's Social Work: MP". The Irrawaddy. 29 February 2012.
  48. ^ "Former MI chief spurns politics, calls for national intelligence agency". Burma News International. 29 November 2013.
  49. ^ Andrew Selth (11 August 2023). "Are Western intelligence agencies "fuelling an armed rebellion" in Myanmar". Griffith University.
  50. ^ "Burma's prime minister 'arrested' Conservative elements in Burma's military junta have ousted Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and put him under house arrest, Thai officials say". BBC News. 19 October 2004.
  51. ^ Harn Yawnghwe (15 November 2004). "Corruption—'That's Where The Problem Arose'. In October, Burma's junta removed prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt. Analysts predict that the country's future is bleak with even more hard-line army leaders now in control. Looking at the recent purge and political events, The Irrawaddy spoke to Harn Yawnghwe, director of the Brussels-based Euro-Burma office". The Irrawaddy.
  52. ^ William Barnes (24 March 1999). "Intelligence chief eyes power. As Burma's army chiefs prepare to replace fading junta leader General Than Shwe - possibly by as soon as Thursday - the country's intelligence hard man is emerging as a foil to his less flexible colleagues". South China Morning Post.
  53. ^ "MFA Press Statement: Working Visit of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt of The Union of Myanmar to Singapore, 13 September 2004". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore. 13 September 2004.
  54. ^ "Changing tack in Myanmar: The exit of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt perhaps confirms the status of Myanmar's road map to democracy as a document with no clear destination". Frontline Magazine. 19 November 2004.
  55. ^ "According to Gen Thura Shwe Mann's October 24 speech, while PM Gen Khin Nyunt was in Singapore in September, the Northeastern Region commander based in Lashio, Maj-Gen Myint Hlaing, was informed by a letter from "a dutiful citizen" that the Muse detachment of Office of the Chief of Military Intelligence, or OCMI, was involved in large scale corruption. A team that included the Inspector-General of the Ministry of Defense and the state Auditor-General was dispatched to the town on the Chinese border". The Irrawaddy. November 2004.
  56. ^ "Coup Rumors, General Khin Nyunt and Purges in the Myanmar Regime in the 2000s". Facts and Details. May 2004.
  57. ^ "Roundtable: Khin Nyunt's legacy". Democratic Voice of Burma. 22 October 2008.
  58. ^ Sunil Sethi (31 January 1994). "SLORC: At best a kind of military secret society, at worst a closely-knit soldiers' club". India Today.
  59. ^ Aung Zaw (24 September 2019). "The Power Behind the Robe". The Irrawaddy.
  60. ^ R.H. Taylor (1995). "MYANMAR: New, but Different?". Southeast Asian Affairs. 1995: 241–256. doi:10.1355/SEAA95N. JSTOR 27912129.
  61. ^ Guyot, James F. (24 August 2009). "Burma - Burma Communist Party's Conspiracy to Take Over State Power. By Brig-Gen Khin Nyunt. Yangon [Rangoon]: Ministry of Information of the Government of the Union of Myanmar [Burma], 1989". Cambridge University Press. 22 (1): 164–166. doi:10.1017/S0022463400005695.
  62. ^ "Khin Nyunt is a Burmese general who was a prominent member of Myanmar military rule from 1988 to 2004. Khin Nyunt, who was considered the country's strong man especially abroad, was appointed in 1984 as head of the powerful intelligence service of the then ruler, General Ne Win, to which he had had close connections. He was number three in the junta, which took power in 1988 and held the title of First Secretary. Khin Nyunt was considered the most internationally oriented in the junta and over the years consolidated his position, among other things. following peace agreements with several ethnic rebel movements and layoffs of generals and ministers. He was deposed in 2004". Den Store Danske. 15 May 2023.
  63. ^ Amara Thiha (8 February 2023). "It's Time to Re-evaluate the Myanmar Military's Intelligence Capabilities". The Diplomat.
  64. ^ "Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Myanmar". United Nations. 22 September 2003.
  65. ^ "Situation of human rights in Myanmar: Report of the Secretary-General". Ref World. 24 November 1995.
  66. ^ Andrew Selth (7 April 2021). "Myanmar: An Enduring Intelligence State, or a State Enduring Intelligence?". Stimson.
  67. ^ Larry Jagan (21 February 2005). "Deposed PM's allies face sentencing". South China Morning Post.
  68. ^ Nyunt Shwe (28 October 2005). "Bleak outlook for Myanmar democracy". The Japan Times.
  69. ^ "Burma accuses former PM of corruption". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 November 2004.
  70. ^ Thiha (11 November 2017). "Chief General Khin Nyunt - Yangon". Consult-Myanmar.