NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) – Htin Kyaw, a confidante of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was sworn in Wednesday as Myanmar’s president, ushering in the first democratically elected government into office after decades of military rule.
The 70-year-old Htin Kyaw took the oath of office in a joint session of Myanmar’s newly elected parliament with his two vice presidents at his side, as Suu Kyi sat watching in the front row.
“I, Htin Kyaw, will be loyal to the union and the people of the union,” he said, reading from a written pledge, while repeating after the house speaker Mann Win Khaing Than. “I will respect this constitution and the laws of the nation.”
The same pledge was simultaneously read by First Vice President Myint Swe and Second Vice President Henry Van Tio. Later in the day, outgoing President Thein Sein will formally hand over the presidency to Htin Kyaw.
Rightfully, the job belonged to Suu Kyi, who has been the face of the pro-democracy movement and who endured decades of house arrest and harassment by military rulers without ever giving up on her non-violent campaign to unseat them. But a constitutional provision barred Suu Kyi from becoming president, and she made it clear that whoever sits in that chair will be her proxy. She has said repeatedly she will run the government from behind the scenes.