Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services

This article is about the head of the armed forces of Myanmar. For other uses, see Commander-in-chief.

The Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services (Burmese: တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ်, romanized: Tatmadaw Kakweyay Uzigyoke) is the supreme commander of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. Since a state of emergency was declared following the 2021 military coup d'état, the Commander-in-Chief has been the highest authority in the country, with plenary power delegated by the president and the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC). Even in peacetime, however, the Tatmadaw is an independent branch of government under control of the Commander-in-Chief, though certain actions of the Commander-in-Chief require the approval of the NDSC.

Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services
တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ်
Flag of Commander-in-Chief
Incumbent Senior General Min Aung Hlaing since 30 March 2011
Tatmadaw Ministry of Defence
Style	His Excellency
Abbreviation	C-in-C DS
Member of	National Defence and Security Council
Seat	Naypyidaw, Myanmar
Nominator	National Defence and Security Council
Appointer	State President
Formation	1945
First holder	Major General Aung San
Unofficial names	တပ်ချုပ်၊ကာချုပ်
Deputy	Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services
Website	Official website

According to the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, the Commander-in-Chief is appointed by the President upon nomination by the NDSC, chaired by the President; the Commander-in-Chief is also a member of the NDSC. Article 418 of the 2008 Constitution allows the Commander-in-Chief broad authority over the government if the president declares a state of emergency in coordination with the NDSC. This happened after the 2021 military coup d'état: military-installed acting president Myint Swe declared a state of emergency and transferred power to Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who then formed a military junta—the State Administration Council.^[1][2][3]

The current Commander-in-Chief is Min Aung Hlaing, since 30 March 2011.^[4] By law, the Commander-in-Chief must be under the age of 65.^[5] However, Min Aung Hlaing, who turned 65 on 3 July 2021, has remained in office.

List of commanders-in-chief

No.	Portrait	Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services[6]	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		San, AungMajor General Aung San (1915–1947) [a]	1945	19 July 1947 †	2 years	Patriotic Burmese Forces
2		Yar, LetBrigadier Let Yar (1911–1978) [b]	19 July 1947	4 January 1948	169 days	Burma Army
3		Dun, SmithLieutenant General Smith Dun (1906–1979) [c]	4 January 1948	31 January 1949	1 year, 27 days	Burma Army
4		Win, NeGeneral Ne Win (1910–2002) [d]	1 February 1949	20 April 1972	23 years, 79 days	Burma Army
5		Yu, SanGeneral San Yu (1918–1996) [e]	20 April 1972	1 March 1974	1 year, 315 days	Burma Army
6		Oo, TinGeneral Tin Oo (1927–2024) [f]	1 March 1974	6 March 1976	2 years, 5 days	Burma Army
7		Htin, KyawGeneral Kyaw Htin (1925–1996)	6 March 1976	3 November 1985	9 years, 242 days	Burma Army
8		Maung, SawSenior General Saw Maung (1928–1997)	4 November 1985	22 April 1992	6 years, 170 days	Myanmar Army
9		Shwe, ThanSenior General Than Shwe (born 1933)	22 April 1992	30 March 2011	18 years, 342 days	Myanmar Army
10		Hlaing, MinSenior General Min Aung Hlaing (born 1956)	30 March 2011	Incumbent	13 years, 235 days	Myanmar Army

Timeline

Notes

1. Founder of modern Myanmar Army, leader of Thirty Comrades, father of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San was offered a post of Deputy Inspector General of post-World War II Burma Army under Major General T. Thomas but declined. He never served as Commander-in-Chief of post-World War II Burma Army but became Vice Chairman of HM Governor's council (Prime Minister) and Defence Councillor (Defence Minister from 22 September 1946 to 19 July 1947 according to Myanmar Official History records).
2. Member of Thirty Comrades, Vice Commander-in-Chief of PBF in 1945. Aung San chose him to replace him as a Deputy Inspector General of post-World War II Burma Army in December 1945. Became Brigadier and replaced Aung San as Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister when the latter was assassinated on 19 July 1947. Was made to resign from the post in February 1949 by AFPFL Government according to "Phay Phay Bo Let Yar by his daughter, Dr Khin Let Yar and other Myanmar official history records. Never was a Commander-in-Chief of post-World War II Burma Army.
3. Ethnic Karen, forced to retire due to the Karen conflict.
4. Later became President and Chairman of Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP). Position designated as Chief of Staff of Defense Services.
5. Later became President.
6. Later became Vice-Chairman of National League for Democracy.

References

1. "Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008)" (PDF). Burma Library. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
2. "Statement from Myanmar military on state of emergency". Reuters. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
3. "Order No (9/2021), Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (PDF). The Global New Light of Myanmar. 3 February 2021. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
4. "New commander in chief of defence services: General Min Aung Hlaing" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Mizzima, 30 March 2011.
5. Rasheed, Zaheena (1 February 2021). "Why Myanmar's military seized power in a coup". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
6. Maung Aung Myoe, Building the Tatmadaw, Appendix (6)