Dr. Sein Win, nephew of Myanmar independence architect General Aung San, cousin of democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and former Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), passed away at 6:00 a.m. on February 6 at the age of 83.
Dr. Sein Win, the son of martyred independence leader U Ba Win and Daw Khin Saw, was born on December 7, 1943. A mathematician by training, he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Hamburg in West Germany in 1974.
Before entering politics, he worked as a mathematics professor at Rangoon Arts and Science University (RASU) and the Defence Services Academy (DSA).
In the 1990 general election, he ran for the National Democracy Party (NDP), an auxiliary party of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and won a parliamentary seat representing Paukkhaung Township in Bago Region.
However, the military government at the time refused to recognize the results of the 1990 election and declined to transfer power. As a result, Dr. Sein Win and several elected representatives fled to liberated areas controlled by ethnic armed organizations (EAOs).
In 1990, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) was established as a parallel government challenging the military regime, based in the Manerplaw region, then the headquarters of the Karen National Union (KNU), with Dr. Sein Win serving as Prime Minister.
The Manerplaw Agreement, the first treaty aimed at uniting Myanmar’s democratic forces and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), was signed by the NCGUB, the National League for Democracy – Liberated Areas (NLD-LAs), the Democratic Alliance of Burma (DAB), and the National Democratic Front (NDF), with Dr. Sein Win serving as Prime Minister of the NCGUB.
Dr. Sein Win served as Prime Minister until September 14, 2012, when the NCGUB was officially dissolved.
During his tenure as NCGUB Prime Minister, Dr. Sein Win was actively engaged with the international community. He is survived by his wife, Daw Si Si, and their two children.
