Thein Sein

He was born on 20 April 1945 in Kyonku, a small village in British Burma (now Myanmar). His family was a poor one and his father, Maung Phyo and mother, Khin Nyunt, were landless farmers. He has two elder siblings.

In spite of being poor, his parents instilled in their son an interest for education and taught him the value of hard work and determination. He grew up watching his father weave bamboo mats and work on the riverside docks while his mother augmented the family’s meager income by working in a tea-shop.

Sein attended the prestigious Defence Services Academy, graduating in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

He became a second lieutenant shortly after his graduation and advanced steadily through the ranks over the years. . In 1988, he served as a major for Sagaing Division's 55th Light Infantry Division and later served as a commander for Sagaing Division's 89th Infantry Battalion in Kalay Township.

In 1989, he completed a training course at the Command and General Staff College in Kalaw, Shan State, and commanded various army units around the country in the following years.

He was promoted to the rank of colonel and 1st Grade General Staff Officer in the War Office, a position he served in from 1992 to 1995. Thereafter he was promoted to Brigadier General even as he held his position at the War Office, thus marking the first time a Brigadier General was promoted to General Staff Officer.

In 1996 he was appointed to lead the new Triangle Regional Military Command in Kyaingtong, Shan State, serving in this role for four years from 1997 to 2001 .

Then he was back at the War Office as adjutant general of the army. He joined the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the ruling military regime in Myanmar at the time.

He has cautiously moved on the path of political reforms after assuming the presidency. His government has freed hundreds of prisoners, including political detainees, embarked on peace deals with ethnic minority groups and relaxed media censorship.