T Khun Myat


T Khun Myat is a Burmese politician and lawyer who is currently the Speaker of the Union Assembly, the Joint House and Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Myanmar parliament. In both 2010 election and 2015 election, he contested and won the Kutkai Township constituency for a seat in the country's lower house.

Background

T Khun Myat is an ethnic Kachin and descendant of a prominent Kachin traditional ruling Duwa family, the "T" at the beginning of his name comes from his family clan name Tangbau. He is a Christian.

Career history

T Khun Myat served as the legal director at the Office of the Attorney General as well as the leader of People's Militia Forces in Kutkai Township under the control of Burmese Army between 1990 and 2010. He was involved in the commission drafting the constitution in 2007 and the commission of 2008 Myanmar constitutional referendum. He also served as the executive member of Union Solidarity and Development Party for northern Shan State.
He was elected as a member of the Pyithu Hluttaw in the 2010 general elections for the Shan State constituency of Kutkai.
He was also chair of the Committee on Bills in the Lower House, a body tasked with drafting new legislation and amending or repealing laws considered out of date.
Along with the other allies of Shwe Mann, T Khun Myatt was sacked from the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Following the resignation of Win Myint as speaker of the House of Representatives, T Khun Myatt was elected by the Pyithu Hluttaw as the next speaker. He was sworn in on 22 March 2018.

Drug controversy

T Khun Myat was the former leader of a militia in Kutkai Township and accused of involvement in illicit drug trade and money laundering. He had been a shareholder in the now-defunct Myanmar May Flower Bank, which was abolished due to money laundering in the illicit drugs industry. He has denied any accusation of his involvement in the drug trade.