Burma Government

What is the capital of Burma?

Country Name	Burma
Full Country Name	Union of Burma
Local - Long	Pyidaungzu Thammada Myanma Naingngandaw (translated as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar)
Local - Short	Myanma Naingngandaw
Former Name	Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, Union of Myanmar
Etymology- history of name	both "Burma" and "Myanmar" derive from the name of the majority Burman (Bamar) ethnic group note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma and the deposed parliamentary government have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; the US Government has not officially adopted the name
Government Type	military regime
Capital Name	Rangoon (aka Yangon, continues to be recognized as the primary Burmese capital by the US Government); Nay Pyi Taw is the administrative capital
Capital - geographic coordinate	16 48 N, 96 10 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Independence	4 January 1948 (from the UK)
National Holiday	Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Constitution	history: previous 1947, 1974 (suspended until 2008); latest drafted 9 April 2008, approved by referendum 29 May 2008 amendments: proposals require at least 20% approval by the Assembly of the Union membership; passage of amendments to sections of the constitution on basic principles, government structure, branches of government, state emergencies, and amendment procedures requires 75% approval by the Assembly and approval in a referendum by absolute majority of registered voters; passage of amendments to other sections requires only 75% Assembly approval; military granted 25% of parliamentary seats by default; amended 2015

Burma Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Burma Government and Politics

Who is the president of Burma?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: Prime Minister, State Administration Council Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021); note - the military took over the government on 1 February 2021 and declared a state of emergency head of government: Prime Minister, State Administration Council Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021) cabinet: Cabinet appointments shared by the president and the commander-in-chief; note - on 2 February 2021, the military leadership replaced the Cabinet with the State Administrative Council (SAC), which is the official name of the military government in Burma elections/appointments: prior to the military takeover in 2021, president was indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates become vice presidents (president elected for a 5-year term); general election last held on 8 November 2020; the military junta has pledged to hold new general elections but has repeatedly announced delays election results: 2020: the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 396 seats across both houses, well above the 322 required for a parliamentary majority, which would have ensured that its preferred candidates would be elected president and second vice president in the Presidential Electoral College; however, on 1 February 2021 the military claimed the results of the election were illegitimate and launched a coup d'état that deposed State Counsellor AUNG SAN SUU KYI and President WIN MYINT of the NLD, causing military-affiliated Vice President MYINT SWE (USDP) to become Acting President; MYINT SWE subsequently handed power to coup leader MIN AUNG HLAING; WIN MYINT and other key leaders of the ruling NLD party were placed under arrest following the military takeover 2018: WIN MYINT elected president in an indirect by-election held on 28 March 2018 after the resignation of HTIN KYAW; Assembly of the Union vote for president - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 votes canceled (636 votes cast) state counsellor: State Counselor AUNG SAN SUU KYI (since 6 April 2016); note - under arrest since 1 February 2021; formerly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Office of the President note: a parliamentary bill creating the position of "state counsellor" was signed into law by former President HTIN KYAW on 6 April 2016; a state counsellor serves the equivalent term of the president and is similar to a prime minister in that the holder acts as a link between the parliament and the executive branch
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: both parents must be citizens of Burma dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: none note: an applicant for naturalization must be the child or spouse of a citizen
Legal System:	mixed legal system of English common law (as introduced in codifications designed for colonial India) and customary law
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: dissolved 1 February 2021 by the coup led by Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING; previously bicameral Assembly of the Union or Pyidaungsu consists of: House of Nationalities or Amyotha Hluttaw, (224 seats; 168 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote with a second round if needed and 56 appointed by the military; members serve 5-year terms) House of Representatives or Pyithu Hluttaw, (440 seats, currently 433; 330 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 110 appointed by the military; members serve 5-year terms); note - on 1 February 2021, the military dissolved the Assembly of the Union, which was replaced by the State Administration Council elections: House of Nationalities - last held on 8 November 2020 House of Representatives - last held on 8 November 2020; note - the military junta overturned the results of the 8 November legislative elections election results: 2020: House of Nationalities - percent of vote by party - NLD 61.6%, USDP 3.1%, ANP 1.8%, MUP 1.3%, KySPD 1.3%, other 5.9%, military appointees 25%; seats by party - NLD 138, USDP 7, ANP 4, MUP 3, KySPD 3, SNLD 2, TNP 2, other 2, vacant 7 (canceled due to insurgency), military appointees 56 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NLD 58.6%, USDP 5.9%, SNLD 3.0%, other 7.5%, military 25%; seats by party - NLD 258, USDP 26, SNLD 13, ANP 4, PNO 3, TNP 3, MUP 2, KySPD 2, other 4, vacant 15 (canceled due to insurgency), military appointees 110
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Union (consists of the chief justice and 7-11 judges) judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges nominated by the president, with approval of the Lower House, and appointed by the president; judges normally serve until mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: High Courts of the Region; High Courts of the State; Court of the Self-Administered Division; Court of the Self-Administered Zone; district and township courts; special courts (for juvenile, municipal, and traffic offenses); courts martial
Regions or States:	7 regions (taing-myar, singular - taing), 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne), 1 union territory regions: Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy), Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon) states: Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan union territory: Nay Pyi Taw
Political Parties and Leaders:	Arakan National Party or ANP [THAR TUN HLA] Democratic Party or DP [U THU WAI] Kayah State Democratic Party or KySDP Kayin People's Party or KPP [TUN AUNG MYINT] Kokang Democracy and Unity Party or KDUP [LUO XINGGUANG] La Hu National Development Party or LHNDP [KYA HAR SHAL] Lisu National Development Party or LNDP [U ARKI DAW] Mon Unity Party (formed in 2019 from the All Mon Region Democracy Party and Mon National Party) National Democratic Force or NDF [KHIN MAUNG SWE] National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SAN SUU KYI] National Unity Party or NUP [U HAN SHWE] Pa-O National Organization or PNO [AUNG KHAM HTI] People's Party [KO KO GYI] Shan Nationalities Democratic Party or SNDP [SAI AI PAO] Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD Ta'ang National Party or TNP [AIK MONE] Tai-Leng Nationalities Development Party or TNDP [ U SAI HTAY AUNG] Union Solidarity and Development Party or USDP [THAN HTAY] Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State or UDPKS [U KHAT HTEIN NAN] Wa Democratic Party or WDP [KHUN HTUN LU] Wa National Unity Party or WNUP [NYI PALOTE] Zomi Congress for Democracy or ZCD [PU CIN SIAN THANG] (numerous smaller parties; approximately 90 parties ran in the 2020 election) note 1: in January 2023, the military junta announced a new law restricting political parties and their ability to participate in elections, including: 1) barring parties and candidates deemed by the junta to have links to individuals or organizations alleged to have committed terrorism or other unlawful acts; 2) stipulating that political parties that wanted to contest the national election would also need to secure at least 100,000 members within 90 days of registration and have funds of 100 million Myanmar kyat ($45,500), 100 times more than previously required, which would need to be deposited with a state-owned bank; 3) requiring that any existing party must apply for registration within 60 days of the legislation being announced or be invalidated; allowing for parties to be suspended for 3 years, and ultimately dissolved, for failing to comply with the provisions of the new law; 4) not allowing parties to lodge an appeal against election commission decisions on registration note 2: in March 2023, the military junta announced that 40 political parties had been dissolved, including the National League for Democracy, because they did not register under the junta's new party establishment rules
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International Organization Participation:	ADB, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires THET Win (since 22 June 2022) chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-3344 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4351 email address and website: washington-embassy@mofa.gov.mm https://www.mewashingtondc.org/ consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Susan STEVENSON (since 10 July 2023) embassy: 110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon mailing address: 4250 Rangoon Place, Washington DC 20521-4250 telephone: [95] (1) 753-6509 FAX: [95] (1) 751-1069 email address and website: ACSRangoon@state.gov https://mm.usembassy.gov/

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