Kyaw Swar Lin (also spelt as Kyaw Swa Lin[1], Burmese: ကျော်စွာလင်း) is a Burmese military general who is currently serving as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services and Commander-in-Chief (Army). Previous to this, he was appointed as Chief of the General Staff (Army, Navy and Air).
Kyaw Swa Linn | |
|---|---|
| ကျော်စွာလင်း | |
| Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services | |
| Assumed office 30 March 2026 | |
Commander-in-Chief | Ye Win Oo |
| Preceded by | Soe Win |
| Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Army | |
| Assumed office 30 March 2026 | |
| Appointed by | Ye Win Oo |
| Preceded by | Ye Win Oo |
| Chief of the General Staff of Army, Navy, Air | |
| In office 18 December 2024 – 30 March 2026 | |
| Appointed by | Min Aung Hlaing |
| Preceded by | Maung Maung Aye |
| Succeeded by | Ko Ko Oo |
| Member of the State Security and Peace Commission | |
| In office 31 July 2025 – 10 April 2026 | |
Chairman | Min Aung Hlaing |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1971 (age 54–55) |
| Spouse | Nan Ku Ku |
| Defence Services Academy | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Myanmar |
| Branch/service |  Myanmar Army |
| Rank |  General |
He was a member of the State Security and Peace Commission.
Early life and education
editBorn in 1971, Kyaw Swar Lin graduated from the 35th intake of the Defense Services Academy.[2]
Career
editKyaw Swar Lin served as a junior officer to Lieutenant-General Moe Myint Tun, commander of the Bureau of Special Operations. They served together on operations in Rakhine State prior to 2018.[3] However, Kyaw Swar Lin came to prominence when he was appointed head of Tatmadaw's Mandalay-based Central Command, ranked as a Major General in 2018.[4] In May 1971, he was the youngest person ever to be promoted to Lieutenant General within the Tatmadaw. He was also appointed quartermaster general, succeeding Lieutenant General Nyo Saw, who retired.[5][6]
Kyaw Swar Lin runs the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), and sits on Myanma Economic Holdings Limited’s patron group under Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing.[7] He also manages the military budget, which has accounted for 13%-15% of the overall national budget every year since 2012.[8]
Post-coup involvement
editAs the commander of the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw)’s Central Command, he is accused of ordering soldiers to open fire on anti-regime protesters in Mandalay in February and March 2021.[9][10] He was appointed to the State Security and Peace Commission upon its formation in 2025.[11]
Personal life
editKyaw Swar Lin is married to Nan Ku Ku, a medical doctor, and has a daughter, Nan Lin Lae Oo, who is in her final year studying international studies at Toyo University.[9][12][13]
References
edit- ↑ "Incumbent Deputy Commander-in-Chief Hands Over Responsibilities to Successor". GNLM.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Min Aung Hlaing makes himself military supremo for life". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ↑ "Asia in Review SEA Myanmar 2019-2020 | German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG)".
- ↑ "Min Aung Hlaing reshuffles senior military ranks ahead of election". 19 May 2020.
- ↑ "INFAMOUS MYANMAR MILITARY SKIP GENERATION MONOPOLY MAY2020". Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ↑ "Younger Myanmar Military Officers Promoted to Key Roles in Reshuffle". The Irrawaddy. 11 May 2020.
- ↑ "Systemic Conflict of Interest in Myanmar Military Allows for Serious Corruption". Progressive Voice. 17 June 2020.
- ↑ "Military-Corporate conflicts of interest 'inflame' Myanmar's civil wars, rights group says". Myanmar NOW.
- 1 2 "Social Media Campaign Shames Adult Children of Senior Myanmar Junta Members". The Irrawaddy. 22 March 2021.
- ↑ "NUG supports sanctions against family members of coup leaders, human rights minister says". Myanmar NOW.
- ↑ Maung Kavi (31 July 2025). "Myanmar Junta Boss Forms New Government With Eye on December Election". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ↑ "စစ်ကောင်စီတွင် တာဝန်အရှိဆုံး စစ်ဗိုလ်ချုပ်ကြီးများ". Myanmar NOW (in Burmese). Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ↑ San Yeik Nyein (23 May 2025). "Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing attended Russia's 80th annual Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square on May 9, accompanied by his wife and her favorite fellow generals' wives. One new face spotted on the Russia trip was Daw Khin May Soe, wife of Chief of General Staff (Army, Navy, Air Force) General Kyaw Swar Lin". The Irrawaddy.