U Myint

In this Burmese name, U is an honorific.

U Myint
ဦးမြင့်
Chief Economic Advisor of the President's Office of Myanmar
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 April 2011 Serving with Tin Hla Bo and Aung Tun Thet
Preceded by	Office established
Personal details
Born	1938 (age 77–78)
Nationality	Burmese
Relations	U Aye (Ambassador)(Brother)
Residence	Yangon, Myanmar
Alma mater	Rangoon University (B.A.) Cornell University (M.A.) University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D)
Occupation	Economist
Religion	Theravada Buddhist[1]

U Myint (Burmese: ဦးမြင့်) is a Burmese economist and presently serves as the Chief Presidential Adviser to Thein Sein, the President of Burma and leads his Economic Advisory Unit.^[2][3]

Career

U Myint attended Rangoon University, where he matriculated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in English, politics and economics,^[4] before moving onto Cornell University, where he earned a master's degree in Economics.^[5] He then earned a Ph.D in economics at the University of California, Berkeley.^[6] He comes from a well-connected and prominent family.^[7]

U Myint was previously a professor of economics at Rangoon University's Institute of Economics, and also served as the director of Ministry of Foreign Affairs' economics department.^[1][3] He later led the Research Department at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Presently, he is the director of the Yangon-based Tun Foundation Bank.^[3]

In 2011, his appointment as President Thein Sein's chief economic adviser surprised many Burma watchers, as he has a close relationship with Aung San Suu Kyi.^[8][9]

In May 2011, U Myint proposed the creation of an independent research center, the Myanmar Development Resource Institute (MDRI), in a paper entitled “Reducing Poverty in Myanmar: The Way Forward,” to combat poverty.^[10] The institute was then founded by U Myint and other advisors to President Thein Sein.^[11] He currently heads the MDRI's Centre for Economic and Social Development.^[12][13]

Papers for Myanmar reforms

U Myint become notable after he published his paper in 2011 (after new government President U Thein Sein took office) - Reducing Poverty in Myanmar - Kyat valuation paper - Anti-corruption paper - FDI Paper ...etc.

In 2012, U Myint write open letter to public about "reform Yangon University" which was one of top university in Asia.

References

1. Htet Aung (February 2010). "A Game of Cat and Mouse". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
2. Goddard, Geoffrey; Sandar Lwin (December 2011). "Poverty gets new recognition" (PDF). Myanmar Times. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
3. Ba Kaung (27 April 2011). "Thein Sein Appoints Presidential Advisors". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
4. "သမ္မတ အကြံပေးအဖွဲ့ ပညာရှင်နှင့် လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ် ကိုးဦးဖြင့် ဖွဲ့စည်း". The Voice Weekly (in Burmese). 26 April 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
5. U Myint (December 2009). "About the Author" (PDF). Myanmar Economy: A Comparative View (Institute for Security and Development Policy). ISBN 9789185937714.
6. Wilson, Trevor (2006). Myanmar's long road to national reconciliation. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. xi. ISBN 9789812303639.
7. "BURMA: ECONOMIST SHARES VIEWS ON ASSK, ECONOMIC PRIORITIES FOR DIALOGUE". US Embassy at Rangoon. Wikileaks. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
8. "Names in the News: Burma's News Makers in 2011". The Irrawaddy. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
9. Allchin, Joseph (28 April 2011). "Presidential ‘advisors’ raise eyebrows". Democratic Voice of Burma. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
10. Nyunt Win (30 May 2011). "Economist proposes formation of development resource institute". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
11. "Myanmar Development Resource Institute". Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
12. Sandar Lwin (13 February 2012). "Leading economists hold talk". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
13. Thomas Kean (22 December 2013). "Economist calls for caution on pace of banking reforms". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 25 June 2015.