Htin Kyaw, elected by the NLD-dominated parliament this month, runs a charity founded by Suu Kyi and has been a trusted member of her inner circle since the mid-1990s.
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Htin Kyaw, second from right, takes oaths as Myanmar’s new president during a swearing-in ceremony at Parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on Wednesday.
Although NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency, she has said she will rule by proxy. But clause 59(f) of the constitution bars anyone with a foreign spouse or child from running for the top job. But she can not assume the presidency under the charter drafted by the former junta because her two sons are British citizens, as was her late husband.
“Suu Kyi met with military leaders several times to try to persuade them to change the country’s military-drafted constitution”.
In the later part of the day, the former Military President of Myanmar, Thein Sein, formally handed over the Presidential power to Mr. Htin Kyaw.
Thein Sein is credited with starting the reform process in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
– Popular mandate – =================== Aung Kyi Nyunt, an upper house MP from central Myanmar who submitted the bill, said the new role reflected the popular mandate Suu Kyi won at the polls. But she had repeatedly said she will run the country from behind the scenes.
“I, Htin Kyaw, will be loyal to the union and the people of the union”, he said as he read through the written pledge. “I am responsible for the formulation of a constitution that will be in accord with the democratic norms suited to our country”. Despite the NLD garnering a strong foundation of public support, the three key ministries of defense, home affairs and border affairs are controlled by the military. “I am also aware that I need to be patient in realizing this political objective for which the people have long aspired”.
Ms Suu Kyi will be officially in charge of foreign affairs, the president’s office, education, and energy and electric power in the new government.
If Htin Kyaw succeeds, it could mark a new chapter in the former pariah state’s transition to a booming emerging market.
Despite her inability to become president, Suu Kyi’s entry into the government is a remarkable turn of fortune not only for her, but also for the country, which had been under iron-fisted military rule for decades beginning in 1962.
He promised that his government would work towards establishing a constitution that would guarantee a federal democracy and the “lifting up of people’s lives”, and that it would strive for “national reconciliation” and achieving peace.
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“Remember we started (the democracy fight) in 1990”, she added, referring to elections won in a landslide by the NLD that were ignored by the junta.
