Maung Maung

Maung Maung
မောင်မောင်
7th President of Burma
In office 19 August 1988 – 18 September 1988
Preceded by	Colonel Sein Lwin
Succeeded by	Saw Maung, as Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council
Personal details
Born	11 January 1925 Mandalay, Upper Burma, British India
Died	2 July 1994 (aged 69) Yangon, Myanmar
Nationality	Burma
Political party	BSPP
Spouse(s)	Khin May Hnin
Relations	U Sint (father) Aye Tin (mother)
Children	5
Alma mater	Yale University (JSD, 1962) Utrecht University (LLD, 1956) University of Rangoon (BA, 1946 and LLB, 1949)
Occupation	Lawyer, historian, politician
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Dr. Maung Maung (Burmese: မောင်မောင် [màʊɴ màʊɴ]; 11 January 1925 – 2 July 1994) was the 7th President of the Union of Myanmar, and a well-known writer.

Biography

Maung Maung was the son of lawyer U Sint and his wife Daw Aye Tin. He graduated from BTN High School. He attended the fourth intake of the Japan academy. In 1946, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Rangoon University. In 1949, he received a Bachelor of Law (BL) degree. He was a lecturer in the English department in Rangoon University, editor of the Burma Khit Newspaper, and Assistant Secretary of Burma Railways. In 1950, he received a scholarship to study in the UK. He entered the Lawyers' Association opened in Lincoln Guest House, Hague. He attended the international Law education school there. He received his LLD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands in June 1956. He temporarily relocated to the United States, as a visiting Lecturer in Political Science and Southeast Asian Studies at Yale University, with his family.^[1] During his stay in Yale, he earned a doctorate in juridical science (JSD), on 11 June 1962.^[1]

Maung had five children with his wife, Khin May Hnin (aka) Khin Myint. One of his sons, Brig-Gen Kyaw Thu (Retd.) currently holds the post of Deputy Foreign Minister on the SPDC, the governing body in Burma. He also served in various capacities in the successive governments of Myanmar as Attorney-General, Supreme Judge-General and other positions.

Among Maung's well-known publications are:

1. London Diary (1958)
2. The Forgotten Army (1946)
3. Burma in the Family of Nations
4. General Ne Win and Myanma Politics (Won the National Literary Award in Politics)
5. Thet-shi-yar-za-win (Living History—Books on Biography of Statesmen)
6. To a soldier son
7. The 1988 Uprising in Burma

He died of a heart attack in Rangoon on 2 July 1994, aged 69.

Political office

Maung Maung served in a legal capacity in General Ne Win's caretaker government from 1958–1960. Following Ne Win's 1962 military coup, Maung Maung became Chief Justice and, although a civilian, was a prominent member of the central committee of the BSPP. He played a large part in shaping the 1974 constitution and subsequent changes to the judicial system. On 19 August 1988, amidst a series of large-scale demonstrations, the People's Assembly declared Maung Maung President and Chairman of the BSPP.^[2][3] Anti-government demonstrations continued and widespread disruptions resulted in another military coup led by Saw Maung on 18 September 1988.^[4][5] After his brief spell in power in 1988, Maung Maung disappeared from the public eye, although it was rumoured that he helped draft the election law governing the 1990 general election.^[6]

References

1. Maung, Maung; Robert H. Taylor (2008). Robert H. Taylor, ed. Dr. Maung Maung: gentleman, scholar, patriot. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-981-230-409-4.
2. Mydans, Seth (20 August 1988). "MAN IN THE NEWS: U Maung Maung; Widely Traveled Leader for Rangoon". The New York Times.
3. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/369986/U-Maung-Maung
4. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-8079830.html
5. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-898687.html
6. http://www.iisg.nl/archives/en/files/m/10847288.php