Before independence, Myanmar had two quasi-constitutions, The government of Burma Act, 1935 and Constitution of Burma under Japanese occupation, 1943. After independence, Myanmar adopted three constitutions in 1947, 1974 and 2008. The 2008 constitution is the present constitution of Myanmar.
Before independence Prior to 1863, different regions of modern-day Burma were governed separately. From 1862 to 1923, the colonial administration, housed in
Rangoon's Secretariat building, was headed by a chief commissioner (1862–1897) or a lieutenant-governor (1897–1923), who headed the administration, underneath the
governor-general of India. From 31 January 1862 to 1 May 1897,
British Burma was headed by a chief commissioner. The subsequent expansion of British Burma, with the acquisitions of
Upper Burma and the
Shan States throughout this period increased the demands of the position, and led to an upgrade in the colonial leadership and an expansion of government (Burma was accorded a separate government and legislative council in 1897). Consequently, from 1 May 1897 to 2 January 1923, the province was led by a lieutenant governor. In 1937, Burma was formally separated from
British India and began to be administered as a separate British colony, with a fully elected bicameral legislature, consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives. From 2 January 1923 to 4 January 1948, British Burma was led by a Governor, who led the cabinet and was responsible for the colony's defence, foreign relations, finance, and ethnic regions (
Frontier Areas and
Shan States). From 1 January 1944 to 31 August 1946, a British military governor governed the colony. During the
Japanese occupation of Burma from 1942 to 1945, a Japanese military commander headed the government, while the British-appointed governor headed the colony in exile. Burma became independent in 1948. There was a president from 1948 to 1962, and then 1974 and 1988. Between 1962 and 1974 and between 1988 and 2011, Burma was headed by military regimes. The office of the president was restored in 2011.
1947 Constitution The 1947 constitution was drafted by
Chan Htoon and was used from the country's independence in 1948 to 1962, when the constitution was suspended by the socialist
Union Revolutionary Council, led by military general
Ne Win. The national government consisted of three branches:
judicial,
legislative and
executive. The legislative branch was a
bicameral legislature called the
Union Parliament, consisting of two chambers, the 125-seat
Chamber of Nationalities (
Lumyozu Hluttaw) and the
Chamber of Deputies (
Pyithu Hluttaw), whose seat numbers were determined by the population size of respective constituencies. The 1947 constitution was largely based on the
1946 Yugoslav Constitution, and several Burmese officials visited Yugoslavia.
1974 Constitution Approved in a
1973 referendum, the 1974 constitution was the second constitution to be written. It created a
unicameral legislature called the
People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw), represented by members of the
Burma Socialist Programme Party The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. Each term was 4 years.
Ne Win became the president at this time.
Between 1988 and 2008 Upon taking power in September 1988, the military based
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) abolished the 1974 constitution. The SLORC called a constitutional convention in 1993, but it was suspended in 1996 when the
National League for Democracy (NLD) boycotted it, calling it undemocratic. The constitutional convention was again called in 2004, but without the
NLD. Myanmar remained without a constitution until 2008.
2008 Constitution On 9 April 2008, the military government of
Myanmar (Burma) released its proposed
constitution for the country to be put to a vote in public referendum on 10 May 2008, as part of its
roadmap to democracy. The constitution is hailed by the
military as heralding a return to democracy, but the opposition sees it as a tool for continuing military control of the country.
2008 constitutional referendum 2012 by-elections In spite of its earlier opposition to the 2008 constitution, the NLD participated in the
2012 by-election for 46 seats and won a landslide victory, with Aung San Suu Kyi becoming a member of parliament, alongside 42 others from her party.
2015 election On 15 March 2016, the 2nd Assembly of the Union elected
Htin Kyaw as the
9th president of Myanmar. He resigned on 21 March 2018 and
Myint Swe became acting president. On 28 March 2018, the 2nd Assembly of the Union elected Win Myint as the 10th president of Myanmar.
2021 Military Coup era After the 2021 coup, a state of emergency was announced, and the State Administration Council was established, with Min Aung Hlaing serving as its chair and de facto head of state until 2026, while also assuming the role of acting president.
Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military as
commander-in-chief of Defence Services since 2011 and Myanmar's ruler since 2021, has exercised 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 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.
2026 election On 3 April 2026, the 3rd Assembly of the Union elected Min Aung Hlaing as the 11th president of Myanmar. However, in order to be elected to the Presidency,
Min Aung Hlaing had to relinquish his position as
Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, which he did a few days prior to being elected. ==List of presidents of Myanmar==