Than Shwe: The military’s hardman

BURMA’S strongman Than Shwe heads one of the world’s most secretive regimes.

He was born in central Burma in February 1933 when the country was under British control. Than Shwe worked as a postal clerk before joining the army in 1953.

He rose through the ranks to become military supremo with the official title “Senior General” in 1992 after his predecessor, General Saw Maung, retired on health grounds.

On taking power he said the junta that seized power in a 1962 coup would “not hold onto power for long”, sparking hopes of serious efforts to reinstall civilian government and democracy.

Since that comment, opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of her time either in prison or under house arrest.

A firm hardliner and nationalist, under his rule the regime has struck peace deals or ceasefires with almost all the ethnic minority militias, some of them drug-funded, fighting for independence.

As head of one of the world’s most secretive regimes, Than Shwe is rarely seen in public or out of uniform. One notable exception is his appearance at a leaked video of his daughter’s wedding in 2006.

In a 10-minute clip posted on the internet, bespectacled Than Shwe walks stiffly at his daughter’s side wearing a starched white shirt and an orange longgyi, a traditional wrap.

The wedding’s lavishness sparked outrage among Burma’s 53 million people, among the poorest in Asia.

He is known to have an intense personal dislike of Ms Suu Kyi and is alleged to have walked out of a meeting with a foreign ambassador simply because her name was mentioned.

He has manoeuvred among the factions of the military to give himself a firm grip on power.

In 2004, the head of military intelligence, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, who was open to talks with Ms Suu Kyi and perceived as a rival, was ruthlessly purged and convicted of corruption.

Rumours about Than Shwe’s failing health are common, although they have proved unfounded so far.