President of Myanmar

The president of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burmese: နိုင်ငံတော်‌သမ္မတ, MLCTS: nuing ngam tau samma.ta.) is the head of state and constitutional head of government of Myanmar, which has a full presidential system. The president chairs the National Defence and Security Council and normally leads the Union Government (Cabinet), the executive branch of the Myanmar government, though leadership of the cabinet is being exercised by the prime minister during the current transition. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military as commander-in-chief of Defence Services since 2011 and Myanmar's ruler since 2021, has been exercising presidential duties on the NDSC on behalf of Acting President Myint Swe since a temporary order issued by Myint Swe on 22 July 2024. Myint Swe had himself been installed by Min Aung Hlaing through a military coup d'état on 1 February 2021. There is no constitutional mechanism for the transfer of presidential authority outside the order of succession, making the constitutionality of Myint Swe's order questionable according to legal experts. The position has been formally vacant since Myint Swe's death on 7 August 2025. The presidency is the most powerful position in the civilian leadership structure, though was largely symbolic under the 2021–2025 state of emergency, with the only presidential action having been to declare and extend the state of emergency and actual decision-making power vested in the chairman of the State Administration Council. Even when an elected civilian government is in place, the president has no command authority over the Tatmadaw, and his executive authority is counterbalanced by the significant governance powers of commander-in-chief of Defence Services.

The president is elected by members of parliament, not by the general population; specifically the Presidential Electoral College, a three-committee body composed of members of parliament, elects the president. Each of the three committees, made up of Amyotha Hluttaw, Pyithu Hluttaw members of parliament, or military-appointed lawmakers, nominates a candidate for presidency.

After the 2015 election, the extraconstitutional post of State Counsellor of Myanmar was created for Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the majority party, the National League for Democracy, because she was ineligible for the presidency. She served as the de facto head of government until she was deposed in the 2021 coup d'état by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing, who created the extraconstitutional posts of chairman of the State Administration Council and prime minister for himself to lead the government.