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Senior General Tan Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar (SPDC) photo by Government of Thailand –

Top 10 Sensational Facts about Than Shwe

Tyranny in the Gre- Roman world is described as an autocratic form of rule in which one individual exercised power without any legal restraint. In antiquity, the word tyrant was not necessarily pejorative and signified the holder of absolute political power.

In its modern usage, the word tyranny usually connotes the illegitimate possession or use of such power.

Aristotle implies a tyrant as 鈥淎ny sole ruler, who is not required to give an account of himself and who rules over subjects all equal or superior to himself to suit his interest and not theirs. Such an individual can only be exercising tyranny鈥�.

One individual who has been described in the same light is the infamous Than Shwe, one of the world鈥檚 most notorious dictators, presiding over a military regime that persists in representing and brutalizing its people.

Until now his story has not been told in depth. Here are the top 10 sensational facts about Than Shwe

1. Than Shwe used to work as a postal clerk

Than Shwe鈥檚 career started from humble beginnings and in his early days, he is said to have lived modestly while showering aides and troops with gifts, a side unseen by cyclone survivors during the early weeks after Nargis.

He worked as a postal clerk before joining the army. He worked for the post office in Meiktila, a city in central Burma.

2. Than Shwe joined the army in 1953

Sometime in 1953, young Than Shwe enlisted in the Burmese colonial army. He attended training school and became a commissioned officer

In 1963 he was named an instructor in the ideological training school operated by the Burmese Socialist program party, the nation鈥檚 only political party then.

3. He was assigned to the 鈥減sychological warfare鈥� unit

During his early years in the army, Than Shwe was assigned to the 鈥減sychological warfare鈥� unit鈥�which is fitting since he is a psycho! He participated in the government鈥檚 ruthless counterinsurgency campaign against ethnic- Karen guerillas in eastern Burma.

This experience resulted in Shwe鈥檚 several鈥搚ear-long commitment to a psychiatric hospital for post-traumatic stress disorder. Nonetheless, Shwe was known as a merciless fighter, his no-holds-barred style brought a promotion to the rank of captain in 1960.

He was promoted to major in 1969 and 1971 he graduated from a military training program at the Frunze academy in the Soviet Union.

4. He was the military dictator of Burma for 19 years

After the unexpected resignation of senior General Saw Maung, citing health reasons on 23 April 1992, Than Shwe became chairman of the council, head of state, Minister of Defense and Commander of the Armed Forces.

Than Shwe elevated himself to the rank of Senior General and replaced Saw Maung as head of the state law and order restoration council (SLORC) and commander in chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces.

After coming to power, he released several political prisoners and instituted several reforms, but none led to a more democratic government and repression continued. He stepped down as prime minister in 2003 but continued as SPDC chairman and armed forces commander until Thein Sein鈥檚 government took office in 2011.

This marked the end of his reign at the helm of Myanmar politics where he had been for 19 years!

5. His political legitimacy was challenged by Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi in London, 12 September 2016 photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office –

Than Shwe鈥檚 political legitimacy was challenged by Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the National League of Democracy (NLD) to victory in the free elections of 1990. The military refused to recognize the result and instead continued to oppress NLD, including imposing repeated terms of house arrest on Aung San Suu Kyi.

By the time that Shwe stepped down, Suu Kyi had spent 15 years of the previous 21 years in prison or under house arrest.

6. Than Shwe banned every kind of freely reported news

Photo by Markus Winkler on

Freedom of the press and free speech were non-existent in Burma under Shwe鈥檚 leadership. The journalist Win Tin, an associate of San Suu Kyi was imprisoned in 1989.

Some 17 newspapers and magazines were proscribed and so foreign journalists were blacklisted.

7. He was referred to as 鈥淎ba Gyi鈥� or 鈥淕reat Father鈥�

In 1998 Than Shwe ordered the execution of 59 civilians living on Christie island. When the local commander on Christie island initially hesitated to kill the civilians, fearing the commander who had given the orders was drunk, he was told the instructions came from 鈥淎ba Gyi鈥� or 鈥淕reat Father鈥� 鈥� the term used to refer to General Than Shwe.

8. Than Shwe leadership has been criticized for human rights abuses

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER from

Than Shwe鈥檚 leadership has been criticized for violence and human rights violations in Myanmar as 鈥淲idespread and Systematic.鈥� As many as a million Burmese civilians have been allegedly being shipped off to Jungle gulags or rural slave camps and forced to perform manual labour during the years of his leadership.

There was no free speech and dissent was not tolerated by the government. In 2007, mass demonstrations were led by crowds of Buddhist monks but they were put down by security forces who killed, beat and detained hundreds.

There were persistent rumours that thousands of monks and others were rounded up and summarily executed and their bodies dumped in the jungle.

Given his early reputation in Pro-democracy movements, it鈥檚 not surprising that Than Shwe showed little to no regard for human rights during his tenure as Burma鈥檚 supreme leader.

9. Than Shwe often performed superstitious rituals to maintain his power

Than Shwe often performed superstitious Yadaya rituals to maintain his power and followed the advice of astrologers and shamans. A sealed jade Buddha statue that Than Shwe had carved in his image was erected in 1999 at the southern entrance of Shwedagon Pagoda.

It is on a list of Unorthodox statues drawn up by the religious affairs ministry. Former UN secretary general Banki-Moon and Chinese President XI Jinping are among those who have paid respect to the statue during visits to Yangon.

As a notoriously superstitious, the unusual clothing choices, namely wearing of traditional female acheik- patterned longyi (sarongs) by Than Shwe and other military generals at public appearances, including union day celebrations in February 2011.

They also wore the same at the reception of the Lao Prime minister Bouasune Bouphavanh in June 2011 have also been attributed to Yadaya as a way to divert power to neutralize Aung San Suu Kyi鈥檚 power.

10. He handpicked his successor

Chairman, State Peace and Development Council, Myanmar, Sr. Gen. Than Shwe photo by Prime Minister’s Office –

Than Shwe ruled from 1992 up until 2011 when he handed power to a nominally civilian, pro-military government.

In March 2011, he officially stepped down as the head of state in favour of his handpicked successor, Thein Sein, and as head of the Armed Forces, being replaced by General Min Aung Hlaung.

He continued to retain great power in the military during Thein鈥檚 reign.