From Myanmar Junta Chief’s Henchman to Upper House Speaker

Prior to his election as the speaker of the first post-coup Upper House on Wednesday, U Aung Lin Dwe served as the secretary of the junta’s governing body, the State Administration Council, from its formation in February 2021 until it was replaced with the State Security and Peace Commission in July 2025. The ex-general is now the chief executive of the Office of the National Defense and Security Council, which is currently serving as the junta’s governing body until a new government can be formed in a few weeks. U Aung Lin Dwe successfully contested an Upper House seat representing Mandalay Region on the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party’s ticket in the junta’s December-January election. In the wake of his election as speaker of the Upper House, The Irrawaddy revisits this 2022 profile, which points out that the then lieutenant general’s career success was due not to outstanding abilities, but due to his unquestioning allegiance to coup leader Min Aung Hlaing.

After junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy Vice Senior General Soe Win, Lieutenant-General Aung Lin Dwe is one of the key generals of Myanmar’s military regime.

Aung Lin Dwe is the secretary of the regime’s governing body, the State Administration Council (SAC), and so, in the absence of the national legislature, all the decrees and notifications issued by the regime are signed by him.