Thein Sein

Thein Sein (Burmese: သိန်းစိန်; IPA: [θéɪɰ̃ sèɪɰ̃]; born 20 April 1945) is a Burmese politician and retired army general who served as the eighth president of Myanmar from 2011 to 2016. He previously served as 11th prime minister from 2007 to 2010, and was considered by many in and outside Myanmar as a reformist leader in the post-junta government. His government undertook a series of political reforms including some deregulation of the country's censored media, releasing many political prisoners and halting the country's controversial large Chinese-led hydro-power project. The developments that followed included Myanmar's appointment to chair ASEAN in 2014, improved relations with the United States, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi – his 2015 general election rival – from house arrest, and the reinstatement of major opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD) in the by-election held on 1 April 2012.