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| {{about|President of Burma|Thai former minister and ] chairman|Newin Chidchob|other uses|Ne Win (disambiguation)}} | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2011}} | |||
| {{Infobox President | |||
| |name =Ne Win | |||
| |native_name = {{my|ေန၀င္း}} | |||
| |image = ] | |||
| |caption = Official portrait of Ne Win | |||
| |order = 1st Chairman of the <br> ] | |||
| |term_start = 4 July 1962 | |||
| |term_end = 23 July 1988 | |||
| |predecessor = Party created | |||
| |successor = ] | |||
| |order2 = 4th ] | |||
| |term2 = 2 March 1962 - 9 November 1981<br><small>(titled as Chairman of the ] until 2 March 1974)</small> | |||
| |predecessor2 = ] <small>(1962)</small> | |||
| |successor2 = ] | |||
| |order3 = 3rd ] | |||
| |term_start3 = 29 October 1958 | |||
| |term_end3 = 4 April 1960 | |||
| |predecessor3 = ] | |||
| |successor3 = ] | |||
| |term_start4 = 2 March 1962 | |||
| |term_end4 = 2 March 1974 | |||
| |predecessor4 = ] | |||
| |successor4 = ] | |||
| |birth_name = Maung Shu | |||
| |birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|5|14|df=y}} | |||
| |birth_place = ], ], ], ] | |||
| |death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|12|5|1911|5|14|df=y}} | |||
| |death_place = ], ] | |||
| |nationality = ] | |||
| |party = ] | |||
| |spouse = Daw Than Nyunt<br /> Daw Tin Tin<br />Daw Khin May Than<br />Daw Ni Ni Myint<br /> Yadana Nat Mei | |||
| |relations = | |||
| |children = Kyaw Thein <br /> Ngwe Soe<br />Aye Aung<br /> ] <br />Phyo Wai Win<br />Kyemon Win | |||
| |residence = | |||
| |alma_mater = ] | |||
| |occupation = | |||
| |profession = | |||
| |religion = ] | |||
| |signature = | |||
| |website = | |||
| <!--Military service--> | |||
| |nickname = | |||
| |allegiance = | |||
| |branch = | |||
| |serviceyears = 1931-1988 | |||
| |rank = ] | |||
| |unit = | |||
| |commands = | |||
| |battles = | |||
| |awards = | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Ne Win''' ({{lang-my|ေန၀င္း}} {{IPA-my|ne wɪɴ|IPA}}; born on 14 May 1910 – 5 December 2002) was a ] politician and military commander. He was ] from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also ] from 1962 to 1981. He founded the ] in 1962 and served as its chairman until 1988. He ruled ] for 26 years. | |||
| ==Date of birth== | |||
| {{unreferenced section|date=February 2011}} | |||
| Ne Win's date of birth is not known with certainty. The English language publication ''Who's Who in Burma'' published in 1961 by People's Literature House, Rangoon, stated that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. Dr. ] stated in the Burmese version of his book ''Burma and General Ne Win'', also published in English, that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. However, in a book written in Burmese titled ''The Thirty Comrades'', the author Kyaw Nyein gave Ne Win's date of birth as 10 July 1910. | |||
| ] | |||
| Kyaw Nyein's date of 1910 can be considered as the more plausible date. First, Kyaw Nyein had access to historical records and he interviewed many surviving members of the Thirty Comrades when he wrote the book in the mid-to late 1990s. (Ne Win was one of the ] who secretly went to undergo military training in Japanese-occupied ] in the early 1940s for the purpose of fighting for independence from the British). In his book published around 1998 Kyaw Nyein lists the names of the surviving members of the Thirty Comrades whom he had interviewed, although Ne Win was not one of them.) Secondly, when Ne Win died on 5 December 2002, the Burmese language newspapers that were allowed to carry a paid obituary stated the age of 'U Ne Win' to be '93 years'. According to Burmese custom a person's age is their age upon their next birthday. Since Ne Win turned 92 in July 2002, when he died in December 2002 he was considered to be 93 years old. Most Western news agencies, based on the May 1911 birth date, reported that Ne Win was 91 years old, but the obituary put up by his family (most probably his children) stated that he was 93 years old, which most likely stems from ]. | |||
| ==Early years== | |||
| {{refimprove section|date=February 2011}} | |||
| Ne Win, born Shu Maung ({{my|ရႈေမာင္}}), was born into an educated middle class ] family in a small village near ] about {{convert|200|miles}} north of ].<ref name="obitgu">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/dec/06/guardianobituaries|title=General Ne Win|last=Smith|first=Martin|date=6 December 2002|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=8 April 2012}}</ref> He spent two years at ] beginning in 1929, and took ] as his main subject with hopes of becoming a doctor. However, in 1931 he was expelled from the university after he failed an exam.<ref>{{cite book |last= Shaw |first= Karl |title= Power Mad! |trans_title= Šílenství mocných |edition= |year= 2005 |origyear= 2004 |publisher=Metafora |location= Praha |language= Czech |isbn= 80-7359-002-6 |pages= 44 }}</ref> Ne Win eventually became "Thakin Shu Maung" or a member of the nationalist organisation ] (We Burmans Association). Other members of the group included ] (father of ]) and ]. In 1941 Ne Win, as a member of the Ba Sein-Tun Ok (Socialist) faction of the Dobama, was one of thirty young men chosen for military training by the Japanese . Their leader was Aung San and they formed the ] (BIA). During military training on the then Japanese-occupied ] Shu Maung chose a ], Bo Ne Win (Commander Radiant Sun). In early 1942 the Japanese Army and the BIA entered Burma in the wake of the retreating British forces. Ne Win's role in the campaign was to organize resistance behind the British lines. | |||
| The experience of the ] worked to alienate the nationalists as well as the population at large. Toward the end of the Second World War, on 27 March 1945 the ] (successor to the BIA) turned against the Japanese following the British re-invasion of Burma. Ne Win, as one of the BNA Commanders, was quick to establish links with the British – attending the ] conference in ] and taking charge of the anti-Communist operations in the ] area as commander of the 4th Burma Rifles after the Red Flag Communists and the ] went underground to fight against the government in October 1946 and on 28 March 1948 respectively. Burma obtained ] on 4 January 1948, and for the first 14 years it had a parliamentary and democratic government mainly under Prime Minister U Nu, but the country was riven with political division. Even before independence, Aung San was assassinated together with six of his cabinet members on 19 July 1947; ], a pre-war prime minister and political rival of Aung San, was found guilty of the crime and executed. U Nu as leader of the Socialists took charge of the ] (AFPFL) formed by the Communists, Socialists and the BNA in 1945 now that Aung San was dead and the Communists expelled from the AFPFL. | |||
| Following independence there were uprisings in the army and among ethnic minority groups. In late 1948, after a confrontation between army rivals, Ne Win was appointed second in command of the army and his rival Bo Zeya, a communist commander and fellow member of the Thirty Comrades, took a portion of the army into rebellion. Ne Win immediately adopted a policy of creating Socialist militia battalions called 'Sitwundan' under his personal command with the approval of U Nu. | |||
| On 31 January 1949, Ne Win was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (]) and given total control of the army replacing General Smith Dun, an ethnic ]. He rebuilt and restructured the armed forces along the ruling Socialist Party's political lines, but the country was still split and the government was ineffective. | |||
| 8===Dwas asked to serve as interim prime minister from 28 October 1958 by U Nu, when the AFPFL split into two factions and U Nu barely survived a motion of no-confidence against his government in parliament. Ne Win restored order during the period known as the ''Ne Win ]'''.<ref>{{cite book | editor=Nicholas Tarling | year=1993 | title=The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia | isbn=0-521-35505-2 }}</ref> Elections were held in February 1960 and Ne Win handed back power to the victorious U Nu on 4 April 1960. | |||
| ==Military coup of 1962== | |||
| {{main|1962 Burmese coup d'état}} | |||
| Less than two years later, on 2 March 1962, Ne Win again seized power in a coup d'état. Ne Win became head of state as Chairman of the ] and also Prime Minister. The coup was characterized as "bloodless" by the world's media. Declaring that "parliamentary democracy was not suitable for Burma," the new regime suspended the constitution and dissolved the legislature. | |||
| Following riots at Rangoon University in July 1962, troops were sent to restore order. They fired on protestors and destroyed the student union building.<ref name="Boudreau">Boudreau, Vincent (2004) ''Resisting Dictatorship: Repression and Protest in Southeast Asia'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., , ISBN 0-521-83989-0</ref> | |||
| Shortly afterward, around 8 pm local time, Ne Win addressed the nation in a five-minute radio speech which concluded with the statement: "if these disturbances were made to challenge us, I have to declare that we will fight sword with sword and spear with spear".<ref>The ] phrase is "dah go dah gyin, hlan go hlan gyin". Two different English translations of the speech can be read on the front page of the Rangoon ''Nation'' and the Rangoon ''Guardian'' of 9 July 1962. Part of ''The Nation''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s headline of 9 July 1962 read 'General Ne Win States Give Us Time to Work: Obstructionists are Warned: Will Fight Sword with Sword').</ref> On 13 July 1962, less than a week after the speech, Ne Win left for ], Switzerland and the United Kingdom "for a medical check up".<ref>News items of Ne Win's trip to these countries for 'medical check up' can be found in '']'' and '']'' of 14 July 1962</ref> All universities were closed for more than two years until September 1964. | |||
| In 1988, 26 years later, Ne Win denied involvement in the dynamiting of the Student Union building, stating that his deputy Brigadier ] — who by that time had fallen out with Ne Win and been dismissed — gave the order and was responsible as a "revolutionary leader" by giving the ''sword with sword and spear with spear'' speech. | |||
| ==Burmese Way to Socialism (1962–1988)== | |||
| Ne Win oversaw a number of reforms after taking power. The administration instituted a system including elements of extreme nationalism, ], and ],<ref>http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/dispatches/a+brief+history+of+burma/158170</ref> though Ne Win lacked interest in either ideology or religion – terming this the '']''. He founded the ] (BSPP), which in 1964 was formally declared to be the only legal party. | |||
| A system of state hospitals and institutions was established in Burma; medical care was free. Private hospitals were brought under public ownership. A new system of public education was introduced. A campaign to liquidate illiteracy was carried out starting in 1965. Between 1962 and 1965 important laws against landlords and usury were adopted. They aimed at protecting peasants' rights to land and property and to renting the land. These measures included the law abolishing rents on land. | |||
| On 2 March 1974—twelve years after his coup—he disbanded the ''Revolutionary Council'' and proclaimed the '']''. He was elected President and shortly afterward appointed ] ] Prime Minister. On 9 November 1981, Ne Win resigned as President and was succeeded in that post by General ]. However, Ne Win remained leader of the party and thus remained the ultimate political authority in the land until his resignation in 1988. | |||
| ===Economic policies=== | |||
| His government nationalized the economy and pursued a policy of ], which involved the economic isolation of his country from the world. The ubiquitous ] and rampant ] supplied the needs of the people, while the central government slid slowly into bankruptcy. ''Autarky'' also involved expelling foreigners and restricting visits by foreigners to three days, and after 1972, one week. Furthermore, political oppression caused many in the educated workforce to emigrate. | |||
| He also took drastic steps regarding the currency: In 1963, he issued a decree that 50 and 100 kyat notes would cease to be legal tender, alleging that they were subject to hoarding by black-marketeers and were also used to finance the various insurgencies. Though limited compensation was offered, this wiped out people's savings overnight. At least one insurgency, that of the ethnic ], was triggered by this act. | |||
| In September 1988 -- reportedly on the recommendation of an astrologer that the number nine was auspicious<ref name=drowning>, George Packer, ''The New Yorker'', 25 august 2008], to be demonetized in some larger denominations while issuing new denominations of ''45'' and ''90'' kyats, that are divisible by nine and whose numerals add up to nine. The many Burmese whose saved money in the old large denominations lost their life savings.<ref name=drowning/> This crippled the Burmese economy further still.<ref>http://epress.anu.edu.au/mdap/mobile_devices/ch05s05.html</ref> Ne Win was well known for his penchant for ] and '']'' (cabalistic rituals and spells performed in order to ward off misfortune).<ref>http://bruinskeptics.org/2008/05/26/how-astrology-ruined-myanmars-economy/</ref> When his soothsayer warned him that there might be a bloodbath, he would stand in front of a mirror and trample on meat to simulate the blood then shoot himself in the mirror to avert the possibility of an assassination attempt.<ref>http://www.dgmoen.net/video_trans/014.html</ref> | |||
| In 1987 after the United Nations had declared Burma a "]", Ne Win, resigned on 23 July 1988 as chairman of the ruling ] at the height of the uprising against one-party rule. | |||
| === Anti-Chinese persecution === | |||
| Despite his Chinese ancestry, Ne Win persecuted ethnic Chinese in Burma. In February 1963, the Enterprise Nationalization Law was passed, effectively nationalizing all major industries and prohibiting the formation of new factories. This law adversely affected many industrialists and entrepreneurs, especially those without the full citizenship.<ref>Murray, ''Chinese Education in South-East Asia'', p. 190</ref> The government's economic nationalization program further prohibited foreigners, including the non-citizen Chinese, from owning land, sending remittances, getting business licenses and practicing medicine.<ref>Murray, ''Chinese Education in South-East Asia'', p. 191</ref> Such policies led to the beginnings of a major exodus of Burmese Chinese to other countries—some 100,000 Chinese left Burma.<ref name="ms">{{cite book|author=Martin Smith|year=1991|title=Burma - Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity|publisher=Zed Books|location=London,New Jersey|pages=153–154, 225–226, 98, 39}}</ref> | |||
| Although a ''kabya'' himself, Ne Win banned Chinese-language education and created other measures to compel the Chinese to leave. Ne Win's government stoked up racial animosity and ethnic conflicts against the Chinese, who were terrorized by Burmese citizens, the most violent riots taking place at the time of the ] in China in 1967.<ref name="ms"/> All schools were nationalized, including Chinese language schools. Beginning in 1967 and continuing throughout the 1970s, anti-Chinese riots continued to flare up and many believed they were covertly supported by the government.<ref>{{cite book |last=Steinberg |first=David L. |title=Burma: The State of Myanmar |year=2002 |publisher=Georgetown University Press |isbn=0-87840-893-2 }}</ref> In 1967, Latha Secondary School was torched by the henchmen of Ne Win's government, where school girls were burnt alive. Similarly, Chinese shops were looted and set on fire. Public attention was successfully diverted by Ne Win from the uncontrollable ], scarcity of consumer items and rising prices of ]. The 1982 Citizenship Law further restricted Burmese citizenship for Burmese Chinese (as it stratified citizenship into three categories: full, associate, and naturalized) and severely limited Burmese Chinese, especially those without full citizenship and those holding FRCs, from attending professional tertiary schools, including medical, engineering, agricultural and economics institutions.<ref name="ls">{{cite book | author=Mya Than | editor=Leo Suryadinata | year=1997 | title=Ethnic Chinese As Southeast Asians | isbn=0-312-17576-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Richter|first=Frank-Jürgen|title=Business networks in Asia: promises, doubts, and perspectives|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1999|page=186|isbn=978-1-56720-302-8}}</ref> During this period, the country's failing economy and widespread discrimination accelerated an emigration of Burmese Chinese out of Burma. | |||
| ==Protests== | |||
| Despite the oppression, sporadic protests against the government continued. Students led protests in 1965, December 1969, and December 1970. These demonstrations took place mainly on campuses located in the cities of ], ] and ] and were often followed by the closure of universities and colleges. In June 1974, workers from more than 100 factories throughout the nation participated in a strike, to which the government reacted by shooting about 100 workers and students on 6 June 1974 at the Thamaing Textile Factory and the Sinmalaik Dock Yard in Rangoon. Since Ne Win was in Australia on an official visit at the time, responsibility for these shootings is unclear. On 5 December 1974, students turned the funeral of former ] ] into a demonstration, snatching the coffin on display at the Kyaikkasan Race Course and erecting a makeshift mausoleum on the grounds of the former Student Union building in protest against the government for not honouring their famous countryman with a state funeral. The military stormed the campus on 11 December killing some of the students, recovered the coffin and buried U Thant at the foot of the ], next to the tomb of ].<ref>http://thetmsk.multiply.com/journal/item/9</ref> | |||
| Students from universities throughout Rangoon demonstrated again in June 1975 in commemoration of the previous year's Labour Strike. Student-led demonstrations also occurred in March 1976, September 1987, March and June 1988. In August and September 1988, these demonstrations turned into a nation-wide uprising against BSPP rule in what is now known as the ']'. | |||
| ==Resignation== | |||
| At the height of the ] against the BSPP, Ne Win resigned as party chairman on 23 July 1988. In a truculent farewell speech to the BSPP Party Congress, he warned that if the "disturbances" continued the "army would have to be called and I would like to declare from here that if the army shoots it has no tradition of shooting into the air. It would shoot straight to hit."<ref>The English translation of Ne Win's speech can be found in 24 July 1988 issues of the Rangoon ''Guardian'' and ''The Working People's Daily''.</ref> The Tatmadaw troops shot, killed and maimed hundreds if not up to 3,000 or more demonstrators in various places throughout Burma from the period of 8 to 12 August 1988 and again on 18 September 1988, proving that Ne Win's farewell speech was not an empty threat. | |||
| ==Military coup of 1988== | |||
| On 18 September 1988 the military led by General ] dispelled any hopes for democracy by brutally crushing the uprisings. It is widely believed that Ne Win, though in apparent retirement, orchestrated the coup from behind the scenes.<ref>{{cite book | last=Stewart | first=Whitney | year=1997 | title=Aung San Suu Kyi: Fearless Voice of Burma | isbn=0-8225-4931-X }}</ref> | |||
| For about ten years, Ne Win kept a low profile but remained a shadowy figure exercising at least some influence on the ].<ref>Listopadov, Nikolai Aleksandrovich. "U NE VIN." Voprosy Istorii no. 11 (November 1997): 56–78.</ref> After 1998, Ne Win's influence on the junta began to wane. | |||
| On 4 March 2002, an alleged plot to overthrow the junta by Ne Win's son-in-law Aye Zaw Win, the husband of his favourite daughter ] was exposed. Ne Win and his daughter were put under house arrest and in September Aye Zaw Win and his three sons (Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win) were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. They are thought to remain in custody in Rangoon's Insein Jail. | |||
| ==Family== | |||
| Ne Win was married six times: | |||
| #He was first married to Daw Than Nyunt, who bore him a son, Kyaw Thein. | |||
| #He was second married to Tin Tin, who bore him two sons, Ngwe Soe and Aye Aung. | |||
| #He then married Khin May Than (Katie Ba Than), daughter of Professor Ba Than, the former dean of Rangoon medical school. The couple had two daughters and a son between them, ], Kye Mon Win, and Phyo Wai Win. Khin May Than brought three daughters from her first marriage, Le Le Win and twins Thida Win and Thawdar Win, into the family. Khin May Than was Ne Win's favourite wife and her death in 1972 was a heavy blow to him. | |||
| #He then married Ni Ni Myint, a university teacher, whom he divorced. | |||
| #He then married ] (Yadana Natmei), a great granddaughter of ]. | |||
| #He remarried his former wife Ni Ni Myint. | |||
| ==Death== | |||
| Still under ], the 91-year-old Ne Win died on 5 December 2002 at his lakeside house in Yangon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.people.com.cn/200212/05/eng20021205_107999.shtml|title=Former Myanmar President U Ne Win Dies|publisher=People's Daily China 5 December 2002|accessdate =5 February 2007}}</ref> The death remained unannounced by Burmese media or the junta. The only mention of Ne Win's death was a paid obituary notice that appeared in some of the government-controlled Burmese language newspapers. Ne Win was not given a state funeral and his former contacts or junior colleagues were strongly discouraged from attending a hastily-arranged funeral, so that only thirty people attended the funeral. | |||
| Ne Win's daughter ] was temporarily released from house arrest to attend his funeral and cremation. She later dispersed her father's ashes into the ]. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} | |||
| {{s-start}} | |||
| {{s-off}} | |||
| {{s-bef|before=]}} | |||
| {{s-ttl|title=]<br><small>Acting</small>|years=1958–1960}} | |||
| {{s-aft|after=]}} | |||
| |- | |||
| {{s-bef|before=]<br><small>as President of Burma</small>}} | |||
| {{s-ttl|title=]|years=1962–1974}} | |||
| {{s-aft|after=Himself<br><small>as President of Burma</small>}} | |||
| |- | |||
| {{s-bef|before=]}} | |||
| {{s-ttl|title=]|years=1962–1964}} | |||
| {{s-aft|after=]}} | |||
| |- | |||
| {{s-bef|before=]<br><small>as Chair of the Revolutionary Council</small>}} | |||
| {{s-ttl|title=]|years=1974–1981}} | |||
| {{s-aft|after=]}} | |||
| |- | |||
| {{s-ppo}} | |||
| {{s-bef|before=None}} | |||
| {{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the ]|years=1962–1988}} | |||
| {{s-aft|after=]}} | |||
| |- | |||
| {{s-mil}} | |||
| {{s-bef|before=]}} | |||
| {{s-ttl|title=Chief of General Staff of the ]|years=1949–1972}} | |||
| {{s-aft|after=]}} | |||
| |- | |||
| {{s-end}} | |||
| {{Heads of state of Burma (Myanmar)}} | |||
| {{Prime Ministers of Burma (Myanmar)}} | |||
| {{Fall of Communism}} | |||
| {{Authority control|VIAF=73842013}} | |||
| {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. --> | |||
| | NAME = Ne Win | |||
| | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | |||
| | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | |||
| | DATE OF BIRTH = 14 May 1911 | |||
| | PLACE OF BIRTH = ], ], ] | |||
| | DATE OF DEATH = 5 December 2002 | |||
| | PLACE OF DEATH = ], ] | |||
| }} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Ne Win}} | |||
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