Saw Ba U Gyi

Saw Ba U Gyi
စီၤဘးအူကၠံ
2nd President of the Karen National Union (Kawthoolei)
In office
1945–1950
PremierBa Maw
Minister for Transport and Communications of Burma
In office
February 1947 – April 1947
Minister of Revenue of British Burma
In office
1937–1939
Personal details
Born1905 (1905)
Bassein, British Burma
Died12 August 1950 (1950-08-13) (aged 44)
near Kawkareik, Burma
Nationalityကရင်
Alma materCambridge University
OccupationPolitician, lawyer
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Saw Ba U Gyi (S'gaw Karen: စီၤဘးအူကၠံ, Burmese: စောဘဦးကြီး [sɔ́ ba̰ ʔú dʑí]; 1905 – 12 August 1950) was the first President of the Karen National Union.[1] Ba U Gyi graduated with a bachelor's degree from Cambridge University in 1925 and studied law in England, passing the English bar in 1927.[2] From 1937 to 1939, he served as the Minister of Revenue of British Burma, and from February to April 1947, as the Minister for Transport and Communications of Burma.[2] He was killed in an ambush by the Burmese Army on 12 August 1950.[2]

Ba U Gyi's four principles are still held as the guiding Principles of the Revolution of the Karen National Union:[3]

  1. Surrender is out of the question
  2. The recognition of the Karen State must be completed.
  3. We shall retain our arms.
  4. We shall decide our own political destiny.
  1. ^ "Our Fallen Heroes". Karen National Union. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Keenan, Paul (March 2008). "Saw Ba U Gyi - Voice of the Revolution" (PDF). Karen History and Culture Preservation Society. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Objectives". Karen National Union. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2012.