Burma’s Rebranded Military Regime
The Burmese military want to give the impression that there is a new civilian government ruling Burma (Myanmar). There isn’t.
- The President and two Vice Presidents are from the Burmese military or Burmese military proxy political party.
- 86% of ministers running ministries are from the Burmese military or the Burmese military proxy political party.
- 30% of ministers have been sanctioned for their role in human rights violations and the 2021 coup.
Military President
On 10 April 2026, General Min Aung Hlaing, who until a week before had been head of the Burmese military, was sworn in as President of Burma. ‘Retired’ generals retain their rank as generals. He has been sanctioned for his role in human rights violations and the 2021 coup, and an arrest warrant has been issued for him for his role in genocide of the Rohingya.
Military Vice-Presidents
There are two Vice-Presidents under the new military installed regime.
General Nyo Saw, sanctioned for his role in human rights violations and the 2021 military coup, is a lifelong member of the Burmese military and has played a key role in the Burmese military’s business empire.
Nan Ni Ni Aye, a member of the Burmese military proxy party the Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) for 16 years, is a supporter of the Buddhist ultra nationalist Ma Ba Tha movement. Her father, Colonel Bo Ni was a member the governing council of the Ne Win-led military dictatorship after the 1962 coup.
Military Ministers
There are 30 union (national) ministries with 30 ministers leading those ministries.
17 of those ministers are from the Burmese military, and 9 are from the military proxy party USDP. 26 of the 30 ministers (86%) have been military officers or are in the USDP military proxy political party.
10 of the 30 Ministers have been sanctioned for their role in human rights violations and the 2021 coup.
Military Parliament
In the two parliamentary houses (Hluttaws), there are 586 MPs. 86 percent are from the military.
They are either serving members of the Burmese military appointed to the 25% of the parliamentary seats reserved for the military, or are MPs from the Burmese military proxy political party, the USDP.
The unelected Burmese military MPs and ‘elected’ military lawmakers (USDP) control the Lower House with 341 out of 373 seats and the Upper House with 164 out of 213 seats. In total, they control 505 out of 586 seats.
(Voting did not take place in all constituencies because of conflict or they have been freed from Burmese military occupation, and some seats are vacant with conflicting reports as to why).
Khin Yi, chair of the Burmese military proxy party USDP was appointed Speaker of the Lower House (Pyithu Hluttaw).
General Maung Maung Ohn, sanctioned for his role in human rights violations, was appointed Deputy Speaker.
General Aung Lin Dwe, sanctioned for his role in human rights violations, was appointed as Speaker of the Upper House (Amyotha Hluttaw),
Major Jeng Phang Naw Taung was appointed as Deputy Speaker.
The latest incarnation of the Burmese military regime is part of a longer-term strategy to try to relieve international pressure. Our briefing papers provide in-depth analysis:
The Burmese Military’s ‘Elections’: New Date, New Danger, Same Sham
Beyond the ‘ballot’: The crisis in Burma and what the British Government should do about it
Burmese Military Rebrands, But Never Reforms
The Burmese Military Regime Members
General Min Aung Hlaing
(Self-appointed President)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Became head of the Burmese military in 2011
- Ordered genocidal military offensives against Rohingya in 2016 and 2017
- Sanctioned by USA in 2019 and UK and EU in 2021
- Led military coup in 2021
- International Criminal Court prosecutor requested arrest warrant in 2024
- Argentina Court issued arrest warrant for genocide in 2025
- Stood down as head of military in March 2026 to become President, following rigged elections in 2025/2026
General Nyo Saw
(Vice-President)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Appointed as chairman of Myanmar Economic Cooperation (MEC) in 2014, also holds senior positions in Inwa Bank and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL)
- Appointed as a member of the State Administration Council (SAC) in 2023
- Became prime minister after the SAC was abolished and State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC) was established in 2025
- Sanctioned by the EU
Nan Ni Ni Aye
(Vice-president, elected by Pyidaungsu Hluttaw following rigged elections 2025/2026)
- Chairperson of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Karen State
- Became an MP in Upper House after 2010 general elections, she was re-elected again in 2015, she competed for Karen State Parliament in 2020 but lost, however she won in 2025
- Her father, Colonel Bo Ni, was a member the governing council of the Ne Win-led military dictatorship after the 1962 coup
Khin Maung Yi
(Union Minister, President Office)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Former Colonel, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation
- Sanctioned by the US in May and by the EU and Switzerland
Tin Aung San
(Union Minister, Ministry of President Office)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Former Commander in Chief of Navy from 2015 – 2021
- Former member of State Administrative Council (SAC) and served as one of the deputy prime ministers of Burma together with Soe Win, Mya Tun Oo and Win Shein and Than Shwe
- Sanctioned by the UK, US and Canada
Mya Tun Oo
(Union Minister, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Digital Development and Communications)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Former Commander of the Eastern Central Command
- Former Minister of Defence from 2021 to 2023
- Sanctioned by the UK, US and EU
General Tun Aung
(Union Minister, Ministry of Defence)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Former Commander in Chief of Air Force from 2022 – 2026
- Accused of overseeing aerial bombardments that have killed civilians across Myanmar since the coup
- Sanctioned by the EU, UK, US and Canada
Lt-Gen Nyunt Win Swe
(Union Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Former Commander of Bureau of Special Operation No. 4 (BSO-4)
- Responsible for Hlaingthaya Massacre, brutal crackdown of the peaceful protesters in March 2021
- Sanctioned by the EU, Switzerland and Canada
Tin Maung Swe
(Union Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Brigadier General and commanded 77th Light Infantry Division and served as Myanmar’s military attaché to the UK
- Current Ambassador to China and North Korea
Aung Kyaw Hoe
(Union Minister, Ministry of National Planning, Investment and Foreign Economic Relations)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Brigadier General, served in the military for more than 30 years
- Former Minister, Ministry of the State Administration Council Chairman’s Office from 2024 – 2025
Dr. Kan Zaw
(Union Minister, Ministry of Finance and Revenue)
- Academic, rector, economist
- Former Union Auditor General
- Accused of using his role in helping to secure the financial needs of the regime
- Sanctioned by the EU.
Lt-Gen Phone Myat
(Union Minister, Ministry of Border Affairs)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Former Commander of Bureau of Special Operation No. 3 (BSO-3)
- Former Union Minister of Ministry of Home Affairs
- Sanctioned by the EU, Switzerland and Canada.
Than Maung
(Union Minister, Ministry of Ethnic Affairs)
- Ethnic Rakhine, elder brother of Zaw Aye Maung who served in the similar role
- A composer and well known in Rakhine community, also a staunch nationalist
- Legal expert and involved in defending the military’s position in the case filed by The Gambia against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Dr. Thida Oo
(Union Minister, Ministry of Legal Affairs)
- Union Attorney General from February 2021 and became the Minister of Legal Affairs in August 2021
- Sanctioned by the US
Dr. Chaw Chaw Sein
(Union Minister, Ministry of Education)
- Lifelong academic
- Professor (Head of International Relations Department)
- Appointed Union Minister of Education in the previous Nyo Saw’s administration in 2025
Dr. Myo Thein Kyaw
(Union Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Brigadier General and served as the Rector of the Defence Services Technological Academy
- Played a pivotal role in Burma’s efforts to implement peaceful nuclear energy in cooperation with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation
Dr. Thet Khine Win
(Union Minister, Ministry of Health)
- Appointed as Minister of Health and Sport after the coup in 2021, and his position as Minister of Health was confirmed again in February 2023
- Under his authority, hundreds of doctors have been fired for political reasons and had their licenses revoked
- Under his authority, private hospitals were urged not to hire doctors who refused to work in public hospitals under the military regime
- He also rebuffed UN-OCHA’s requests for expanded aid access amid the pandemic
- Sanctioned by the US, EU and Switzerland
Dr. Thet Thet Zin
(Union Minister, Ministry of Women’s Affairs)
- President of Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation from 2008 to 2011. (Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation was created by the military in 2003 in part to try to counter advocacy from independent women’s organisations exposing the systematic use of rape and sexual violence by the Burmese military)
Htein Lin
(Union Minister, Ministry of Information)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Colonel from the 24th intake of the Defence Services Academy (DSA)
- Served as Security – Border Affairs Minister (until 2017) and later appointed as Rakhine Chief Minister (2023 – 2026)
Tin Oo Lwin
(Union Minister, Ministry of Religious Affairs)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Brigadier General
Min Naung
(Union Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Lieutenant General
Myo Zaw Thein
(Union Minister, Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Vice-Chair of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)
- Former Commander of Yangon Command and the Bureau of Special Operations (BSO) No. 5
Hsan Oo
(Union Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Adjutant-General, former member of the Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MECHL)’s Patron Group (Together with Nyo Saw, they headed to the MEC)
Ko Ko Lwin
(Union Minister, Ministry of Electric Power and Energy)
- Involved in high-level trips to China to promote investment in Myanmar’s energy sector.
Dr. Charlie Than
(Union Minister, Ministry of Industry and MSME Development)
- Lifelong academic
- Retired Rector
- Sanctioned by the US
Myint Kyaing
(Union Minister, Ministry of Immigration and Population)
- Became Minister in August 2021
- Under his capacity as Union Minister, he carried out duties in support of the Burmese military’s repressive immigration and population policy, such as restrictions for citizens to travel within the country as well as the policy of the regime towards the Rohingya, in violation of human rights
Khin Maung Soe
(Union Minister, Ministry of Labour)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Appointed as Minister for Electric Power by President Thein Sein (2011 – 2016)
- USDP Chair of Yangon
- Responsible for a series of often violent pro-military rallies in the days immediately before and after the 2021 coup
Tun Ohn
(Union Minister, Ministry of Commerce)
- Appointed as Minister of Commerce by State Administrative Council in September 2023
Ye Myint Tun
(Union Minister, Ministry of Sports)
- Appointed as Minister of Sports by Min Aung Hlaing in April 2026
Dr. Maung Thin
(Union Minister, Ministry of Youth Affairs)
- Lifelong academic
- Retired Rector
- Senior USDP central executive member
Myo Thant
(Union Minister, Ministry of Construction)
- Appointed as Minister of Construction by State Administrative Council in November 2022
Dr. Soe Win
(Union Minister, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Retired Major General, also known to be the personal physician of Min Aung Hlaing
Maung Myint
(Union Minister, Ministry of Hotels, Tourism and Culture)
- Lifelong member of the Burmese military
- Served several high-level minister positions in the past (Minister of Industry 2013, Minister of Labour 2012 – 2013 and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Notorious for forming and arming pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militia groups that looted and burned villages in Mingin Township, Sagaing Region following the 2021 coup
List of ministers as published by the Burmese military-controlled Ministry of Information, as of 17 April 2026
| 1 | President | U Min Aung Hlaing |
| 2 | Vice President | U Nyo Saw |
| 3 | Vice President | Daw Nan Ni Ni Aye |
| 4 | Union Minister President Office | U Khin Maung Yi |
| 5 | Union Minister Ministry of President Office | U Tin Aung San |
| 6 | Union Minister Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Digital Development and Communications | U Mya Tun Oo |
| 7 | Union Minister Ministry of Defence | General Tun Aung |
| 8 | Union Minister Ministry of Home Affairs | Lt-Gen Nyunt Win Swe |
| 9 | Union Minister Ministry of Foreign Affairs | U Tin Maung Swe |
| 10 | Union Minister Ministry of National Planning, Investment and Foreign Economic Relations | U Aung Kyaw Hoe |
| 11 | Union Minister Ministry of Finance and Revenue | Dr. Kan Zaw |
| 12 | Union Minister Ministry of Border Affairs | Lt-Gen Phone Myat |
| 13 | Union Minister Ministry of Ethnic Affairs | U Than Maung |
| 14 | Union Minister and Union Attorney General Ministry of Legal Affairs | Dr. Thida Oo |
| 15 | Union Minister Ministry of Education | Dr. Chaw Chaw Sein |
| 16 | Union Minister Ministry of Science and Technology | Dr. Myo Thein Kyaw |
| 17 | Union Minister Ministry of Health | Dr. Thet Khaing Win |
| 18 | Union Minister Ministry of Women’s Affairs | Dr. Thet Thet Zin |
| 19 | Union Minister Ministry of Information | U Htein Lin |
| 20 | Union Minister Ministry of Religious Affairs | U Tin Oo Lwin |
| 21 | Union Minister Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation | U Min Naung |
| 22 | Union Minister Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development | U Myo Zaw Thein |
| 23 | Union Minister Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation | U Hsan Oo |
| 24 | Union Minister Ministry of Electric Power and Energy | U Ko Ko Lwin |
| 25 | Union Minister Ministry of Industry and MSME Development | Dr. Charlie Than |
| 26 | Union Minister Ministry of Immigration and Population | U Myint Kyaing |
| 27 | Union Minister Ministry of Labour | U Khin Maung Soe |
| 28 | Union Minister Ministry of Commerce | U Tun Ohn |
| 29 | Union Minister Ministry of Sports | U Ye Myint Tun |
| 30 | Union Minister Ministry of Youth Affairs | Dr. Maung Thin |
| 31 | Union Minister Ministry of Construction | U Myo Thant |
| 32 | Union Minister Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement | Dr. Soe Win |
| 33 | Union Minister Ministry of Hotels, Tourism and Culture | U Maung Myint |
NOTE:
We welcome any feedback, additional information or corrections that we can use to update this briefing paper. Please email: info@burmacampaign.org.uk.