Hla Htay Win
{{Short description|Burmese army general and politician (born 1957)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Family name hatnote|Hla Htay Win|lang=Burmese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Hla Htay Win
| image = Hla Htay Win (cropped).jpg
| caption = Hla Htay Win in 2012
| order2 = Chief of Staff (Army, Navy, Air Force)
| occupation = Army general
| predecessor2 = Senior General Min Aung Hlaing
| termend2 = 2015
| termstart2 = 2010
| party = Union Solidarity and Development Party
| constituency = Zeyathiri Township
| order = Representative of the Pyithu Hluttaw
| predecessor = General Thura Shwe Mann
| successor = Than Htay{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/burmese/news/npt-zeyathiri-township-election-results-11092020021543.html|title=ဇေယျာသီရိမှာ USDP ဥက္ကဋ္ဌ နိုင်တယ်လို့ ကော်မရှင်အတည်ပြု|work=RFA Burmese|access-date=29 April 2024|date=9 November 2020}}
| term_end = 1 February 2021
| term_start = 1 February 2016
| birth_place = Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Burma)
| birth_date = 1957
| nationality = Burmese
| alma_mater = Defence Services Academy
| allegiance = {{flag|Myanmar}}
| branch = {{Army|Myanmar}}
| serviceyears = 1979–2015
| rank = 15px General
| unit = Ministry of Defence
| honorific_prefix = His Excellency
General
Thray Sithu
| native_name = {{nobold|လှဌေးဝင်း}}
| native_name_lang = my
}}
Hla Htay Win ({{Langx|my|လှဌေးဝင်း}}; {{IPA|my|l̥a̰ tʰé wɪ́ɰ̃|pron}}; born 1957) is a retired Burmese army general and politician.{{Cite news |date=27 March 2015 |title=တပ်မတော်အနေဖြင့် ရွေးကောက်ပွဲကြီး အောင်မြင်ရန် ပြည်သူတို့နှင့်အတူ လက်တွဲဆောင်ရွက်မည် (The Tatmadaw will work together with the people to make the election a success) |url=https://www.mdn.gov.mm/my/ttpmtteaaanephng-rekeaakpaikii-aeaangmngrn-pnnysuuttiunngattuu-lkttaicheaangrkmnny |access-date=27 March 2015 |work=Myanmar Digital News |language=Burmese}}{{Cite news |last=Htet Naing Zaw |date=10 February 2020 |title=Who Is Myanmar's New Home Affairs Minister? |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-new-home-affairs-minister.html |work=The Irrawaddy}} He previously served as a high-ranking general in the Myanmar Army, holding various leadership positions, including Chief of Staff of the Tatmadaw (Army, Navy, and Air Force).{{Cite news |date=7 November 2015 |title=USDP's Hla Htay Win: 'If I Lose, I'll Commend the Winner and Shake Hands' |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/usdps-hla-htay-win-if-i-lose-ill-commend-the-winner-and-shake-hands.html |access-date=29 April 2024 |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |date=22 September 2022 |title=USDP to hold party conference and elect new chair in October |url=https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/usdp-to-hold-party-conference-and-elect-new-chair-in-october/ |work=Myanmar NOW}} In 2015, he resigned from military service and entered politics, joining the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). He was elected as a member of parliament representing the Zeyathiri Township constituency.{{Cite news |date=10 March 2016 |title=သမ္မတလောင်းများ လွှတ်တော်တွင်း အဆိုတင် (Presidential candidates proposed in parliament) |url=https://burmese.voanews.com/a/u-htin-kyaw-nominated-for-lower-house-vp-as-expected/3228749.html |access-date=29 April 2024 |work=VOA Burmese |language=Burmese}}{{Cite news |date=29 August 2016 |title=Lt-Gen Mya Tun Oo Appointed Burmese Military's Chief of General Staff|url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/lt-gen-mya-tun-oo-appointed-burmese-militarys-chief-of-general-staff.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |last=Nyein Nyein |date=7 November 2015 |title=USDP's Hla Htay Win: 'If I Lose, I'll Commend the Winner and Shake Hands' |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/usdps-hla-htay-win-if-i-lose-ill-commend-the-winner-and-shake-hands.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}
Early life and education
Hla Htay Win was born in 1957 in Myanmar. Not much is publicly available about his early life, including details of his family background and upbringing. However, it is known that he pursued a career in the Myanmar military and joined the Defence Services Academy, where he received training as a cadet, laying the foundation for his long career in the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces).
Military career
File:The Joint Chief of Staff of Defence Services, Myanmar, Lt. Gen. Hla Htay Win meeting the Army Chief, Gen. V.K. Singh, in New Delhi on October 14,2011.jpg, Army Chief of India, in New Delhi on 14 October 2011.]]
Hla Htay Win graduated from the Defence Services Academy (DSA) as part of a 20th intake in 1975.{{Cite news |date=9 March 2016 |title=As Eyes Turn to Naypyidaw, a Question of Which Three |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/as-eyes-turn-to-naypyidaw-a-question-of-which-three.html |work=The Irrawaddy}} His official gazette number is 14799.{{Cite news |date=17 May 2022 |title=Military arrests high-ranking General Administration Department official |url=https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/military-arrests-high-ranking-general-administration-department-official/ |work=Myanmar NOW}}{{Cite news |date=26 February 2016 |title=Speculation grows over military's vice-presidential nominee |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/speculation-grows-over-militarys-vice-presidential-nominee/ |work=Frontier Myanmar}} He began his career in the Tatmadaw in 1979, eventually rising through the ranks to serve in various significant positions.{{Cite news |last=Htet Naing Zaw |date=30 June 2017 |title=Lawmaker Criticizes Govt on Rakhine Issue |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/lawmaker-criticizes-govt-rakhine-issue.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |last=Thompson Chau |first=Dominic Oo |title='Survival at any cost': Myanmar generals move to cement power |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2022/8/17/survival-at-any-cost-myanmar-generals-move-to-cement-power |work=Al Jazeera News}} He commanded the 11th Infantry Division Headquarters and later the Yangon Region Military Headquarters. He also served as Chief Military Training Officer and as Chief of Staff of the Tatmadaw (Army, Navy, Air Force).{{Cite news |last=Wai Moe |date=24 May 2011 |title=Bangladesh Army Chief Visits Burma |url=https://www2.irrawaddy.com/article.php?art_id=21349 |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |date=29 March 2022 |title=In Solidarity with Coup Leader, Myanmar Ex-Generals Appear at Armed Forces Day Event |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/in-solidarity-with-coup-leader-myanmar-ex-generals-appear-at-armed-forces-day-event.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |last=Egreteau |first=Renaud |title=The (Few) Generals That Don't Exit in Myanmar |url=https://thediplomat.com/2015/11/the-few-generals-that-dont-exit-in-myanmar/ |work=The Diplomat}}
= Notable events =
On 19 February 2001, a tragic helicopter crash occurred in Karen State, which led to the deaths of several high-ranking military officials. Among the deceased were Lieutenant General Tin Oo, Secretary (2) of the State Peace and Development Council, Major General Thura Thihathura Sis Maung, Commander of the Southeast Regional Military Command, and Brigadier General Loong Maung, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office and Chief of Staff (Army). The crash, which took place near Ba An, also resulted in the loss of other military personnel, marking a significant moment in Myanmar’s military history and leading to subsequent changes in the leadership structure of the Tatmadaw.{{Cite news |last=Yan Pai |date=24 August 2010 |title=More Senior Officers Reportedly Resign to Join USDP |url=https://www2.irrawaddy.com/article.php?art_id=19292 |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |last=Paw Htun |date=18 January 2022 |title=Sacking of Myanmar Air Force Chief Fuels Personal Rift Rumors |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/sacking-of-myanmar-air-force-chief-fuels-personal-rift-rumors.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}
Political career
Hla Htay Win retired from the Myanmar Army in 2015 to contest in the Myanmar general elections held that year.{{Cite news |last=Htet Naing Zaw |date=26 May 2018 |title=Deputy Home Affairs Minister Leaves Post to Return to Top Military Job |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/deputy-home-affairs-minister-leaves-post-return-top-military-job.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |last=Phyo Thiha Cho |date=1 July 2020 |title=USDP says it's no longer favouring retired military officials as MP candidates |url=https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/usdp-says-its-no-longer-favouring-retired-military-officials-as-mp-candidates/ |work=Myanmar NOW}} He became a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and served on its Central Executive Committee. Representing Zeyathiri Township in Nay Pyi Taw, he was elected as a member of the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives). His political career was focused on legislative duties and contributing to the party's goals.{{Cite news |last=Min Lwin |date=27 June 2008 |title=Lt-Gen Myint Swe: Future No 2? |url=https://www2.irrawaddy.com/print_article.php?art_id=13014 |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |date=7 February 2009 |title=Burma, North Korea Said To Expand Military Ties |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/nkorea-07012009231914.html |work=Radio Free Asia}}
Personal life
Hla Htay Win maintains a private personal life, and not much is publicly known about his family or personal interests. After retiring from the Myanmar Army, he entered the political sphere, where he became a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Party and was elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives of Myanmar). His focus has largely been on his military and political roles.
Awards received
Hla Htay Win has been recognized for his service with the honorary title of Thray Sithu, awarded by the President of Myanmar, U Thein Sein, who served from 2011 to 2016.{{Cite news |author=Kyaw Phyo Tha |title=Senior NLD Leader Calls UEC Bias Over Election Complaints |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/elections/senior-nld-leader-calls-uec-bias-over-election-complaints.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}{{Cite news |date=24 March 2022 |title=Myanmar Junta Detains Yangon Commerce Minister and Mayor |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-detains-yangon-commerce-minister-and-mayor.html |work=The Irrawaddy}}