| Ne Win (24 May or 14 May, 1911 or 10 July, 1910 – 5 December, 2002) was head of state for nearly 3 decades. He was head of the armed forces (Tatmadaw) from 1949-1972, Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981. He was also the founder of the Burma Socialist Programme Party which was the sole political party from 1964 until 1988, and its chairman from 1963 to 1988. Ne Win began his military career during the struggle for Burma’s independence under the British. He stepped down from power during the 1988 uprisings and at the time of his death was still under house arrest after an alleged plot to overthrow the junta in 2002. |
