Soe Win

Vice Senior General Soe Win - Vice chair of State Administrative Council

Vice-Senior General Soe Win (Burmese: စိုးဝင်း; pronounced [só wɪ́ɴ]; born 1 March 1960) is the current vice chairman of the State Administrative Council, deputy commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar armed forces) and commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Army. He is also a member of Myanmar's National Defence and Security Council. In May 2012, former president of Myanmar Thein Sein appointed him to the working committee of the government team responsible for negotiating with Myanmar's many armed ethnic rebel groups. Soe Win is a close associate of former vice chairman of the SPDC, Vice-Senior General Maung Aye.

Contents

 * 1Early life and education
 * 2Military career
 * 2.1Accusations of corruption
 * 3Personal life
 * 4References

Early life and education[edit]
Soe Win was born in 1960 to Chit Sein and Kyin Htwe. In 1976, he attended a cadet course at the Defense Services Academy, alongside Ye Htut, graduating with distinctions in military science and literature.

Military career[edit]
In 1980, Soe Win graduated from the Defense Services Academy (DSA) during its 22nd intake. In June 2008, he became the commander of the Northern Regional Command of the Myanmar Army in Kachin State. In August 2010, he became Chief of the Bureau of Special Operations-6 (BSO-6), which oversees military operations in Chin and Rakhine States and the Magwe Region.

Soe Win had also pressured the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to convert into a "Border Guard Force" (BGF) under the control of the military. Despite numerous meetings between Soe win and KIA leaders in July 2009 and August 2010, the KIA did not become a BGF.

In September 2011, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) accused Soe Win of ordering Tatmadaw soldiers to attack KIA positions in Kachin State, thus violating the terms of multiple ceasefire agreements signed prior to the alleged attacks. Soe Win denied the claims, saying that neither he nor anyone else in the Northern Regional Command had ordered an attack on the KIA.

Accusations of corruption[edit]
Soe Win has been accused of being involved numerous cases of corruption and extortion during his career as commander of the Northern Regional Command from 2008 to 2010. He has been accused of accepting bribes from companies dealing in jade, timber, and gold, in exchange for concessions from the profits. He was reported to have accepted a 150 million kyat ($149,254USD) bribe from teak businessmen from China's Yunnan Province, in exchange for allowing illicit teak trade on the Myanmar-China border. In March 2010, he ordered Tatmadaw soldiers in Hpakant, Kachin State, to collect military taxes from local jade mining companies.

Personal life[edit]
Soe Win is married to Than Than Nwe.