The prime minister of Myanmar (Burmese: မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဝန်ကြီးချုပ်; MLCTS: mranmounghaṅ wan kri khuup.) is the head of governmentofMyanmar. The post was re-established in 2021 by the State Administration Council (SAC), the country's ruling military junta, to lead its nominally-civilian provisional government. The provisional government is subject to the decision-making of the SAC; additionally, there is significant overlap in the membership of both bodies. There is no provision for a prime minister in the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, with the president being the constitutional head of government. The current prime minister is Min Aung Hlaing, who is also the leader of the junta and the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services.[3] The post had been used by previous military governments, as recently as 2011.
| Prime Minister of Myanmar | |
|---|---|
| မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် ဝန်ကြီးချုပ် | |
| |
Min Aung Hlaing since 1 August 2021 | |
| Style | His Excellency (formal) |
| Type | Head of government |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Reports to | State Administration Council |
| Residence | Presidential Palace[1] |
| Seat | Naypyidaw |
| Appointer | State Administration Council[2] |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | SAC Order No 152/2021[2] |
| Precursor | PremierofBritish Crown Colony of Burma |
| Formation |
|
| First holder | U Nu |
| Abolished | 30 March 2011 (2011-03-30) (first) |
| Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister |
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The position of Prime Minister was created in 1948, with the adoption of the Burmese Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom. Since then, eleven people have held the office (with two of them doing so on multiple occasions). Due to the country's long period of military rule, it has not been uncommon for the prime minister to be a serving (or recently retired) military officer.
The actual power of the prime minister has considerably varied over time, differing based on who holds the office. In 2004, a power struggle between the then–head of state, Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, and his prime minister, General Khin Nyunt, resulted in the prime minister being dismissed and arrested.
The position was abolished on 30 March 2011, according to the current Constitution (adopted in 2008). It provided that the president is both the head of state and head of government. But after the 2015 general election, as Aung San Suu Kyi was constitutionally barred from becoming President, an office named State Counsellor, functionally identical to that of Prime Minister, was established for her on 6 April 2016.
On 1 August 2021, State Administration Council formed the caretaker government and chairman of SAC became Prime Minister.[4][5]
Right after the coup, [Min Aung Hlaing] moved straight into the Presidential Residence.
