Myint Htwe (Burmese: မြင့်ထွေး [mjɪ̰ɴ tʰwé]; born 24 September 1948) is a Burmese politician, public health physician, and former Minister for Health and Sports of Myanmar .

Myint Htwe
‹See Tfd›မြင့်ထွေး
Minister for Health and Sports
In office
30 March 2016 – 1 February 2021
PresidentHtin Kyaw
Myint Swe (acting)
Win Myint
DeputyMya Lay Sein
Preceded byThan Aung
Succeeded byThat Khaing Win
Personal details
Born (1948-09-24) 24 September 1948 (age 76)
Sittwe, Burma
NationalityBurmese
SpouseNang Kham Mai
Children2
Alma materInstitute of Medicine 1, Rangoon
University of the Philippines
Johns Hopkins University
OccupationPublic health physician

Early life and education

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Myint Htwe was born on 24 September 1948 in Sittwe, Burma (now Myanmar) to Shwe Tha Htwe and Aye Yi.[1]

From 1966 until 1973, he studied at the Institute of Medicine (1), in Rangoon and graduated with a MBBS. From the same institute, he received in 1979 a Diploma (with distinctions in Public Health Administration, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Environmental Health & Microbiology) in Preventive & Tropical Medicine. After winning a scholarship at the Institute of Public Health, University of the Philippines Systems, he graduated in 1982 with a Master of Public Health. In 1992, he received Doctor of Public Health from the renowned Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA.[2] In 2020, he received a distinguished alumnus award from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.[3]

Career

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After graduating, Myint Htwe worked in the Ministry of Health for 17 years. In 1994, he was appointed as a Regional Adviser for the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO), where he served in various positions until his retirement in 2011. As Director of Programme Management at WHO SEARO he was instrumental in supporting Member Countries in their health development efforts.[4][5]

Myint Htwe also served as an executive committee member of the Myanmar Academy of Medical Science, Chairperson of the Ethics Review Committee, Department of Medical Research, Ministry of Health, and vice-chairperson of the Myanmar Liver Foundation.[5][6] As public health physician, he was a chairperson of the Preventive and Social Medicine Society of the Myanmar Medical Association.

In 2014, during the government of former General Thein Sein, he was a member of the committee that drafted two of the four bills designed to regulate religious conversion and population-control measures in Myanmar.[7][8][9]

On 22 March 2016, he was nominated as Minister for Health and Sports in President Htin Kyaw's Cabinet, which was Myanmar's first democratically elected civilian government since 1962. On 24 March 2016, the Assembly of the Union confirmed his nomination. In the aftermath of the military-led 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, the Myanmar Armed Forces appointed Thet Khaing Win as Myint Htwe's successor on 1 February 2021.[10][11]

Personal life

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He is married to Nang Kham Mai, a medical doctor, and has two children, Nang Aye Thida Myint Htwe and Sai Htoo Myint Htwe.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီးများ၏ကိုယ်ရေးအကျဉ်းမျာ". 7Day News Journal (in Burmese). Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  2. ^ "Short Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Myint Htwe, Union Minister for Health (JANUARY 2016)".
  3. ^ "Alumni | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health".
  4. ^ "World Health Organization, Meeting with SEAR WHO Country Office Planning Focal Points on Programme Development and Management". South-East Asia Regional Office.
  5. ^ a b Plenary Session. Naypyidaw: 8th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Myanmar health leaders take Johns Hopkins bioethics lessons home".
  7. ^ "Republic of the Union of Myanmar President Office Notification No (19/2014)" (Press release). Myanmar President Office. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Burma: Drop Draft Religion Law". Human Rights Watch. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  9. ^ Ei Ei Toe Lwin (5 December 2014). "President signs off on religious bills". Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Myanmar's Health Minister Resigns After Military Takeover". The Irrawaddy. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  11. ^ "Tatmadaw names new govt officials". The Myanmar Times. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.