Thet Lwin
{{Short description|Politician (1940–2023)}}
{{Burmese name|Nai}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox Minister
| honorific-prefix = His Excellency
Nai
| name = Thet Lwin
| honorific-suffix =
| native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|my|နိုင်သက်လွင်}}}}
| native_name_lang = my
| caption =
| order = Minister of Ethnic Affairs
| image = Nai Thet Lwin.jpg
| office =
| term_start = 30 March 2016
| term_end = 1 February 2021
| predecessor = new post
| successor = Saw Tun Aung Myint
| succeeding =
| office1 =
| constituency1 =
| majority1 =
| term_start1 =
| term_end1 =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|10|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = Kawkareik, Kayin State, British Burma
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|09|20|1940|10|20|df=y}}
| death_place = Yangon, Myanmar
| nationality = Mon people citizen of Myanmar
| party = Mon National Party
| spouse =
| relations =
| children = Mikon Chan, Min Byan San
| residence =
| alma_mater = Mawlamyine University
| occupation = Merchant, politician
| profession =
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| citizenship = Myanmar
| education = BA (Philosophy)
| honorific_prefix = Nai
| order2 = Mon National Party Vice Chairman
| president =
}}
Nai Thet Lwin ({{langx|my|နိုင်သက်လွင်}}{{langx|mnw|နာဲသိုက်လောန်}}; also Htet Lwin; 20 October 1940 – 20 September 2023) was an ethnic Mon Myanmar politician who was the Minister of Ethnic Affairs in the government of President Htin Kyaw.
Background
Thet Lwin was born to Aung Nyein and Khin Thein in Kawkareik Township, Kayin State, on 20 October 1940.{{Cite news|url=http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/nay-pyi-taw/19609-who-s-who-myanmar-s-new-cabinet.html|title=Who's who: Myanmar's new cabinet|date=23 March 2016|publisher=Myanmar Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/7daynews/posts/1117673254960974|title=ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီးများ၏ကိုယ်ရေးအကျဉ်းမျာ|website=7Day News Journal|lang=my|access-date=25 April 2020}} He went to Moulmein College (now Mawlamyine University) and studied philosophy.{{Cite news|url=http://www.irrawaddy.com/factiva/meet-burmas-next-cabinet.html|title=Meet Burma's Next Cabinet|date=24 March 2016|publisher=Irrawaddy}} He started in politics at the age of 18, joining the Mon Development Party. After graduating in 1970, he focused on teaching and preserving Mon literature and culture.{{Cite news|url=http://www.irrawaddy.com/burma/new-portfolio-old-political-hand-ethnic-affairs-post.html|title=New Portfolio, Old Political Hand for Ethnic Affairs Post|date=22 March 2016|publisher=Irrawaddy}}
Political career
In 1988, he brought Mon politicians together in his house to form the Mon National Democratic Front, as part of the "8888" pro-democracy movement. He became vice-chairman of the MNDF, running for a seat in the Mon State capital, Mawlamyine, in the 1990 election.
After the 1990 election, the party was banned and he went into business, including rubber, fisheries processing, food exports and hotels. In 2011 he participated in government peace talks with the Mon National Liberation Army.{{Cite news|url=http://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/mon-state-government-peace-team-arrives-headquarters-nmsp|title=Mon State government peace team arrives at headquarters of NMSP|date=14 November 2011|publisher=reliefweb}}
Thet helped reestablish the party in 2012, after political parties were allowed again. In 2015 he participated in the founding of the United Nationalities Alliance, which brought together eight ethnic minority political parties in Myanmar. He called for the implementation of a federal system in Myanmar as a top priority and said a democratic system and the rule of law were "of great importance".{{Cite news|url=http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/politics/dialogue-eight-groups-will-not-produce-genuine-peace|title=Dialogue with eight groups will not produce genuine peace|date=30 December 2015|publisher=Eleven Myanmar}} He was appointed the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, a newly formed ministry, in 2015. Asked what his policies were, he said, simply, "I will follow [NLD Chairperson] Daw Aung San Suu's instructions ... the country's ethnic minorities all love and trust her."{{Cite news|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/916213/euphoria-subsides-as-new-govt-takes-helm|title=Euphoria subsides as new govt takes helm|date=31 March 2016|publisher=Bangkok Post}}
Thet took office on 30 March 2015 as part of the first government of the country formed by the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) following their victory in the 2015 general election.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/19591-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-to-join-government-as-nld-reveals-cabinet.html|title=Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to join government as NLD reveals cabinet|last=Times|first=The Myanmar|website=www.mmtimes.com|access-date=30 March 2016}} The vice-chair of the Mon National Party, he was one of only three ministers appointed to cabinet from a party other than the ruling NLD.
Personal life and death
Thet was married to Kyin Than and had four children, Mahn Banya San, Mi Kon Chan, Mahn Lagun Ein, and Man Banya Aung Htun.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/article/12703|title=လွှတ်တော်က အတည်ပြုလိုက်သော ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး(၁၈)ဦး၏ ကိုယ်ရေးအကျဉ်း}} His daughter, Mi Kon Chan, was elected an MP for the NLD for Paung Township in the 2015 election.{{Cite news|url=http://mizzima.com/news-election-2015-election-features/amending-constitution-we%E2%80%99ll-try-our-best|title=Amending the constitution? We'll try our best|date=22 October 2015|publisher=Mizzima}}
Thet Lwin died from a heart attack in Yangon on 20 September 2023, at the age of 83.{{cite web|url=https://news-eleven.com/article/253956|title=Former Ethnic Affairs Minister died|lang=my}}