LONG-STANDING GOAL
Min Aung Hlaing is a member of the Dawei ethnic group, who are often seen as part of Myanmar’s Burmese majority but have a distinct cultural identity.
He spent his early childhood in central Myanmar, where his father was head of the arts department at a teacher training college, he told an interviewer in 2020.
Min Aung Hlaing studied law before entering the military and rising steadily through the ranks, culminating in his promotion to military chief on this day 15 years ago.
Even before the coup, Min Aung Hlaing was persona non grata in many countries for commanding a 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya ethnic minority that drove about 750,000 people into Bangladesh.
He was banned from Facebook for stoking hate speech, heavily sanctioned and the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor is seeking his arrest for crimes against humanity.
A rigid military leader and considered a ruthless operator, Min Aung Hlaing has relied on a finely tuned ability to manage the country’s elites, using tactics that include handing important positions to loyalists and punishing political rivals.
He long had his eyes on becoming the country’s president, even though Myanmar’s raging civil war has dented the military’s prestige and hold over the country, Reuters has reported.
“This has been Min Aung Hlaing’s goal all along,” said independent analyst Htin Kyaw Aye.
“It’s just a shift from ruling as a military leader to ruling as president.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/myanmar-military-junta-chief-min-aung-hlaing-steps-down-eyes-presidency-6025011
