Than Shwe

His Excellency Agga Maha Thray Sithu Senior General Than Shwe
သန်းရွှေ
Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council
In office 23 April 1992 – 30 March 2011
Prime Minister	See list Himself Khin Nyunt Soe Win Thein Sein
Deputy	Maung Aye
Preceded by	Saw Maung
Succeeded by	Thein Sein (as President)
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Myanmar
In office 23 April 1992 – 30 March 2011
Deputy	Maung Aye
Preceded by	Saw Maung
Succeeded by	Min Aung Hlaing
Prime Minister of Myanmar
In office 23 April 1992 – 25 August 2003
Leader	Himself
Preceded by	Saw Maung
Succeeded by	Khin Nyunt
Personal details
Born	(1933-02-02) 2 February 1933 (age 91)[1] Kyaukse, Upper Burma, British Burma (present-day Myanmar)
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse	Kyaing Kyaing
Relations	Nay Shwe Thway Aung (grandson)
Children	8
Alma mater	Officer Training School Frunze Military Academy (Soviet Union)
Military service
Allegiance	Myanmar
Branch/service	Myanmar Army
Years of service	1953–2011
Rank	Senior General

Than Shwe (Burmese: သန်းရွှေ, pronounced [θáɰ̃ ʃwè]; born 2 February 1933) is a Burmese army general and politician who was the head of state of Myanmar from 1992 to 2011 as Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

During this period, he held key positions of power including Prime Minister of Myanmar, Commander-in-chief of Myanmar Defense Services and head of the Union Solidarity and Development Association. In March 2011 he officially stepped down as head of state in favour of his hand-picked successor, Thein Sein, and as head of the Armed Forces, being replaced by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. He continues to retain great power in the military.