Khin Nyunt

General Khin Nyunt (Burmese: ; MLCTS: hkang nywan.;

pronounced: [k ]; born 11 October 1939) is an officer and politician in
Burma (also known as Myanmar). Khin Nyunt is of Burmese Chinese descent.
[1]
His parents are Meixian Hakkas.[2] He held the office of Chief of Intelligence
and was Prime Minister from 25 August 2003 until 18 October 2004. He spent
the next seven years under house arrest, having been convicted of
corruption, by the hardliners in his party.
Khin Nyunt

9th Prime Minister of Burma

(Myanmar)
In office
25 August 2003 18 October 2004
Leader
Than Shwe
Preceded by Than Shwe
Succeeded
Soe Win
by
Secretary 1 of the State Peace and
Development Council
In office
1997 25 August 2003
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded
Thein Sein
by

Personal details
11 October 1939 (age 77)
Born
Kyauktan Township, British
Burma
Nationality Burmese
Spouse(s) Khin Win Shwe
Thin Le Le Win, Lt.-Col. Zaw
Children
Naing Oo, Dr. Ye Naing Win
Military service
Service/bran
Myanmar Army
ch
Years of
19602004
service
Rank
General
Education
Khin Nyunt graduated from the 25th batch of the Officers Training School in
1960, after dropping out of Yankin College in the late 1950s.[3]
Political involvement
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After his career in the military, he was ordered back to Rangoon in 1984 after
an attack on a visiting South Korean delegation which was visiting Burma at
that time. 21 people, including three South Korean cabinet ministers, died
during the attack, (Rangoon bombing) which occurred on 9 October 1983
and was perpetrated by terrorists sent from North Korea.[4] Khin Nyunt was
then appointed Chief of Intelligence. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s
Khin Nyunt was considered to be a protg of Ne Win, who supposedly retired
from politics in July 1988 but who is thought to have continued to be an
influential figure behind the scenes until about the late 1990s.
The 1988 uprising that occurred from March to September 1988 was quelled
by the military when the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
was formed on 18 September 1988. The SLORC was renamed as the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1997, and Khin Nyunt was
appointed as its first secretary (Secretary 1), a post which he held until his
appointment as Prime Minister in August 2003.

Shortly after Khin Nyunt was appointed as Prime Minister, he announced a

seven-point roadmap to democracy; this roadmap was heavily criticized by
the Burmese opposition as well as by many foreign governments especially
Western ones as it envisaged a permanent military participation in the
government. The so-called 'systematic and step-by-step implementation of
the road-map to democracy' also contained no time-line.
The first 'step' of the road map was the recalling of the suspended National
Convention (NC) which first met in January 1993. The NC was supposed to
'lay down' the basic principles for a new Constitution. The NC met
sporadically until the approval of a new constitution in 2008 by what many
observers considered the rigged 2008 constitutional referendum.
Prime Minister
After his appointment as Prime Minister, Khin Nyunt's role in the government
gave rise to some hope and speculation that there might be some
'liberalization', as he was considered a moderate pragmatist who saw the
need of a dialogue with the democratic opposition. The SPDC Chairman Than
Shwe and his deputy, General Maung Aye, were seen as hardliners who
opposed any relaxation of the military's iron grip of the country.
Controversy
From 1988 until his purge in 2004, he oversaw the arrest of around 10,000
people. Many were subjected to torture and farcical trials that resulted in
decades-long prison sentences. Dozens of his military intelligence units
harassed, intimidated and detained opposition activists. His military
intelligence units infiltrated almost every organization in the country and
maintained networks of spies in almost every neighborhood. Their agents
were placed in customs, immigration and police departments, and officers
military intelligence even monitored other senior military officials, including
top generals.
He was instrumental in shutting down the universities, reopening them only
after they had been relocated to remote, ill-equipped campuses where
students could no longer organize protests or get a meaningful education.[5]
Arrest and release
On 18 October 2004, in a one-sentence announcement signed by SPDC
Chairman Than Shwe, Khin Nyunt was "permitted to retire on health
grounds". However, he was immediately arrested and placed under
protective custody.[6]

Allegations of Khin Nyunt's corruption were officially made several days later.
Khin Nyunt's dismissal and arrest were the result of a power struggle in
which the junta's strongman, Than Shwe, successfully managed to clip the
power of the "intelligence faction" of the Burmese Armed Forces which Khin
Nyunt led. Most of the Generals and military officers in the SPDC, like Than
Shwe, did not want to negotiate with Aung San Suu Kyi and the National
League for Democracy (NLD).
On 5 July 2005, Khin Nyunt was tried by a Special Tribunal inside Insein
prison near Rangoon on various corruption charges. On 21 July 2005, he was
sentenced to 44 years in prison, though it is believed that he is ostensibly
serving his sentence under house arrest instead of in prison. Khin Nyunt's
sons were also sentenced to 51 and 68 years respectively. It is unclear
whether his wife was also indicted.[7]
In July 2009, a video of Khin Nyunt at the home of former Burmese minister
Brigadier-General Tint Swe, taken on 7 July 2009, was leaked to the public
and there have been reports that Khin Nyunt and his wife have been able to
travel outside their home on occasion, since March 2008.[8] In December
2010, another 16-minute video of Khin Nyunt meeting with the Chief of Police
Khin Yi and other senior police officers was circulated on YouTube.[9]
His brother-in-law was Dr. Than Nyein, a long-term political prisoner under
military regime and founder of National Democratic Force Party, who died of
lung cancer at Yangon on 21 May 2014.[10] Tin Htut, his son in law, has been
in prison since October 2004. Khin Nyunt - now referred to by the Burmese
media simply as "U" (Mr) - was released from house arrest on 13 January
2012 by the order of President Thein Sein.[11]
Later life (2012present)
After release from house arrest, he lives in a large villa at 27, Nawaday
Street, Mayangone Township with eight family members, including his wife,
children and grandchildren. He opened a coffee shop, a gallery and a
souvenir store in his villa that sells items to tourists, such as wood carvings.
[12]
On 2 March 2015, he released his 657-page autobiography.
Personal life
He is married to Khin Win Shwe, a medical doctor, and has a daughter, Thin
Le Le Win, and two sons, Lieutenant Colonel Zaw Naing Oo and Dr. Ye Naing
Win, who owns Bagan Cybertech, one of the few internet service providers
available in Myanmar.[13]