Mladen ANTONOV / AFP
This screengrab provided via AFPTV and taken from a broadcast by Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) in Myanmar on February 3, 2021 shows military chief General Min Aung Hlaing chairing a meeting at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Naypyidaw following Feb. 1 military coup. Photo: Myanmar Radio and Television / AFP
There remain many unknowns about the reason behind the coup. After all, the military had already entrenched political and economic powers, so what did it have to gain by sparking public backlash and international isolation? One plausible explanation is that it was linked to Min Aung Hlaing’s desire for the top job, especially since the 64-year-old is due to retire as commander-in-chief later this year.A closer look at his background reveals a quietly ambitious general who rose through the ranks of the armed forces—known as the Tatmadaw in Myanmar—and developed a fearsome reputation among the country’s ethnic and religious minorities.Min Aung Hlaing was born in the southerly town of Dawei and studied law at Yangon University before entering the Tatmadaw’s Defense Services Academy, its version of West Point. He spent the next several years working his way up through the military, including a stint leading one of the Tatmadaw’s Light Infantry Divisions—a specialist force that would later be implicated in the brutal Rohingya crackdown in 2017—before becoming joint chief of staff in 2010. When long-term junta leader Than Shwe retired as military chief in 2011, he appointed Min Aung Hlaing as his successor. He was promoted to Senior-General in March 2013.“He likes to be admired and respected like any psychotic dictator in history,” one activist said when describing Min Aung Hlaing.
Mitchell left Myanmar in 2016, and is now the Director of the National Democratic Institute in Washington, DC. His successors have had little interaction with Min Aung Hlaing, particularly since the U.S. placed sanctions on him, as well as other military leaders, under the Magintsky Act for his role in overseeing “clearance operations” against the Rohingya in 2017. The UN has called for the senior general to be investigated and prosecuted on genocide charges for his part in the Rohingya crackdown, as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes for the Tatmadaw’s activities in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states.“He gained confidence as he went. I think early on he was nervous about meeting the ambassador, but then he became more confident, and I wondered what that meant.”
Protesters burn an image of Myanmar's army chief General Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok on Feb. 3, 2021, during a demonstration against the military coup back home in Myanmar. Photo: Jack TAYLOR / AFP