Myanmar sworn in new civilian president after over 50 years of military rule

Htin Kyaw has been sworn in as Myanmar's new president after more than five decades of military rule in the country. In a ceremony in the parliament on Wednesday, democracy icon and leader of the ruling party Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in as minister of foreign affairs, education and energy, and will also hold the president's office portfolio. She was unable to become president because of a constitutional block even though she led her National League for Democracy party (NLD) to a landslide win in general elections last November.
Myanmar has been under military or military-dominated rule since a coup in 1962, and the elections in November which brought the new government to power were the first openly contested polls since 1990. Htin Kyaw takes over from former general Thein Sein, who has led the country since 2011. Under Thein Sein, the government set in motion reforms which have opened up the once-isolated country to the outside world, including to foreign investment.
Born in 1946, the 69-year-old is the son of a famous poet and writer, Min Thu Wan, who ran as an NLD candidate in the 1990 elections. Htin Kyaw is married to NLD lawmaker Su Su Lwin, whose father U Lwin is one of the party's founding members. He studied economics at the University of Yangon and went on to study computer science. Until his election, Htin Kyaw was the head of the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, a charity named after Aung Sang Suu Kyi's mother.