YANGON, Myanmar — In a strategic reshuffle aimed at neutralizing potential rivals, Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, has established a new “Union Advisory Council,” populating it with recently retired top brass and politicians who faced heavy defeats in the junta’s widely discredited elections.
The 11-member body will be chaired by Soe Win, the former deputy military chief who was recently forced into retirement—a move many analysts viewed as a deliberate effort by Min Aung Hlaing to consolidate absolute control over the military apparatus.
The council’s roster serves as a “who’s who” of those who have lost influence in the current power structure. Joining Soe Win as secretary is retired General Maung Maung Aye. Other members include former foreign minister Than Swe and international cooperation minister Ko Ko Hlaing, both of whom were recently replaced in the cabinet.
“Looking at the list, it’s clear these are the outcasts,” a Yangon-based political commentator told MPA. “Min Aung Hlaing is offering them ‘candy’—prestigious-sounding titles in a toothless council—to keep them quiet while he moves them out of active duty.”
Perhaps the most controversial appointment is that of Ko Ko Gyi, the leader of the People’s Party and a former prominent 88-Generation activist. Despite his once-lofty reputation, Ko Ko Gyi suffered an embarrassing defeat in the 2025-26 sham elections, losing even to an obscure candidate from the military-backed USDP.
“Ko Ko Gyi lost all political integrity long ago,” said a former political prisoner from the 1990s era. “The fact that he is willing to accept scraps from the man who imprisoned his former comrades is not surprising, but it remains a betrayal of his history.”
Also joining the council is Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, daughter of the late U Kyaw Nyein, a historic deputy prime minister from the post-independence AFPFL era. Her involvement has been met with harsh criticism from veterans of the democratic movement, who claim she is tarnishing her father’s democratic legacy for a share of illegitimate power.
The creation of the advisory council follows Min Aung Hlaing’s transition into the role of President within his own “sham” administration. While the council is framed as an expert advisory body, resistance groups and legal experts have dismissed it as an illegal entity with no constitutional standing.
Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar has been plagued by economic ruin and a brutal civil war. Analysts believe that by shuffling these figures into advisory roles, the junta chief is attempting to project an image of inclusive governance while ensuring that no single individual—particularly Soe Win—remains in a position to challenge his leadership within the military.
For a nation under the grip of a deepening humanitarian crisis, this latest political maneuvering in Naypyidaw is seen as little more than a “game of chairs” among an elite class increasingly isolated from the reality of the people they claim to lead.
