Htin Kyaw, Myanmar's first civilian president in 50 years, steps down; successor to be appointed within 7 days

Htin Kyaw, Myanmar's first civilian president in 50 years, steps down; successor to be appointed within 7 days

FP Staff March 21, 2018, 11:23:56 IST

Myanmar’s president and Aung San Suu Kyi’s right-hand man, Htin Kyaw, stepped down on Wednesday after two years in the position, his office said.

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Htin Kyaw, Myanmar's first civilian president in 50 years, steps down; successor to be appointed within 7 days

Myanmar’s president and Aung San Suu Kyi’s right-hand man, Htin Kyaw, stepped down on Wednesday after two years in the position, his office said.

File image of Htin Kyaw. Reuters

“Myanmar president U Htin Kyaw resigned on 21 March, 2018,” a terse statement on the president’s official Facebook page said, adding that a new leader would be selected “within seven working days”, in accordance with the country’s 2008 Constitution.

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Kyaw became the first President of Myanmar with no ties to the army in more than 50 years. A close friend and confidant of the Nobel peace prize laureate Suu Kyi, Kyaw was hand-picked by her to run Myanmar’s government because a Constitution drafted by the former junta barred the democracy champion from the top office.

Kyaw, elected by the NLD-dominated Parliament in March 2016, ran a charity founded by Suu Kyi and has been a trusted member of her inner circle since the mid-1990s.

With inputs from agencies

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