Soe Htut

Soe Htut (Burmese: စိုးထွဋ်; born 29 March 1960) is Burmese military officer and incumbent Minister for Home Affairs and Ministry of Union Government Office of Myanmar. Soe Htut is a career soldier, and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant General.[1]

Soe Htut
စိုးထွဋ်
Minister for Home Affairs
Assumed office
10 February 2020
PresidentWin Myint
Preceded byKyaw Swe
Minister of Union Government Office
Assumed office
1 February 2020
Preceded byMin Thu
Personal details
Born29 March 1960 (1960-03-29) (age 60)
Mandalay, Burma
NationalityMyanmar
Spouse(s)Nilar Sein
ChildrenMin Than Htut, Soe Min Htut, and Sithu Htut
Military service
Branch/serviceMyanmar Army
RankLieutenant General

Early life and education

Soe Htut was born to an army general, Brigadier General Lun Maung, and his wife Shwe Thet, in Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar).[2] He graduated from the 64th intake of the Officer Training School, and received a bachelor's degree in physics, and a master's degree in defence studies.[3][2]

Career

Soe Htut was nominated by Myanmar's commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing, and appointed in March 2020, replacing Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe.[3] According to analysts, Kyaw Swe's close relationship with Aung San Suu Kyi may have prompted the ministerial replacement.[3] Prior to this appointment, Soe Htut had been appointed as the head of Office of Military Security Affairs in 2016.[4]

Controversies

In July 2020, Justice for Myanmar published an exposé revealing Soe Htut's conflicts of interest in several government contracts awarded in Pa’O Self-Administered Zone to H Double H, a construction and engineering firm owned by his three sons.[5] Soe Htut has also courted controversy for being part of a committee to investigate the 2020 Hpakant jade mine disaster, despite also being one of the largest individual shareholders of Myanma Economic Holdings Limited, a military corporation with significant jade mining interests.[6]

Personal life

Soe Htut is married to Nila Sein, and has three sons, Min Than Htut, Soe Min Htut, and Sithu Htut.[2]

References
  1. "Myanmar Picks Military Intelligence Veteran as New Home Affairs Minister". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  2. "စိုးထွဋ်ကိုယ်ရေးအကျဉ်း". Myanmar NOW (in Burmese). Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  3. "Who Is Myanmar's New Home Affairs Minister?". The Irrawaddy. 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  4. "Myanmar spy chief named home affairs minister". The Myanmar Times. 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  5. "Dirty Secrets #1: Military construction contract awarded to Lt. Gen Soe Htut's family members". Justice for Myanmar. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  6. "Military conflict of interest corrupts Myanmar government's investigation of Hpakant jade mining disaster | Justice For Myanmar". Justice For Myanmar. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
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