Pe Khin
Encyclopedia
Pe Khin was the most important negotiator and architect of the historical Panglong
Panglong Conference
The Panglong Conference , held in February 1947, was an historic meeting that took place at Panglong in the Shan States in Burma between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Aung San, head of the interim Burmese government...

 treaty in Burma. Even General Aung San
Aung San
Bogyoke Aung San ; 13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army, the Tatmadaw....

 was disappointed, given up and decided to take the flight back to Rangoon that evening. Pe Khin persuaded General Aung San to stay for one night and to allow him to negotiate with the Ethnic Minority leaders. Pe Khin successfully negotiated with those Ethnic leaders to get an agreement for this most important treaty in Burma, which was the foundation of the formation of Union of Burma which leads to its Independence from the British. This day of February 12 is celebrated since as 'Union Day'.

Early life

Born in Swe Hman village, Phaw Bawl Township of Mandalay Division
Mandalay Division
Mandalay Region is an administrative division of Myanmar. It is located in the center of the country, bordering Sagaing Region and Magway Region to the west, Shan State to the east, and Bago Region and Kayin State to the south. The regional capital is Mandalay. In the south of the division lies...

 to U A.A. Khan @ U Bo Galay and Daw Toke on 27 August 1912.
Studied in Urdu language at Swe Hman village Primary School and passed the fourth standard examination.
He passed 7th standard from Phaw Bawl Township  Wesleyan School
Wesleyan School
Wesleyan School is an independent K-12 school located 20 miles north of Atlanta in the suburb of Peachtree Corners. It was founded in 1963 and has existed on its current grounds since 1996. The school includes grades K-12 with a total student body of 1122 for the 2010-2011 school year...

 and Matriculation from the Kelly School, Mandalay
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....

. Stayed together in Bago Hostel together with future General Aung San
Aung San
Bogyoke Aung San ; 13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army, the Tatmadaw....

 and got the B.A.,B.L. from the Rangoon University. He started work as the Labour Office at the Chauk
Chauk
Chauk is a town and river port in Magway Division, north-central Myanmar, on the Irrawaddy River. It is located across the river from Seikpyu and is connected by a bridge. In 1902, the Chauk-Lonywa oil field was discovered near Chauk.-Economy:...

 Petrolium oil field in 1938.

Politics

In January 1946, he attended the first convention of Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League , or hpa hsa pa la by its Burmese acronym, was the main political party in Burma from 1945 until 1962...

 or AFPFL as the delegate of the Burma Muslim Congress. Pe Khin, proposed (Proposal no.7) that the frontier areas and ethnic groups should join together with the Burmese interim government to achieve Independence. It became the seed for the famous Panglong Conference
Panglong Conference
The Panglong Conference , held in February 1947, was an historic meeting that took place at Panglong in the Shan States in Burma between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Aung San, head of the interim Burmese government...

 Agreement.
He became the Central Executive Member of AFPFL and was appointed as the AFPFL’s secretary for the Ethnic Minorities of Burma.
He was elected as the Member of Parliament of FPFL rpresenting the Phaw Bawl Township  in the April 1947 constituent assembly elections
Burmese general election, 1947
General elections were held in Burma on 9 April 1947 to form the basis of a constituent assembly which would design a constitution once independence from the United Kingdom had been achieved. They were the first elections in Burma since its separation from India under the British Raj...

.
He was the main lobbyist behind the letter by the leaders of Mandalay requesting Gen Aung San to appoint U Razak for the Cabinet post .
The popularity of the AFPFL, now dominated by Aung San and the Socialists, was eventually confirmed when it won an overwhelming victory in the April 1947 constituent assembly elections. After U Saw
U Saw
U Saw aka Galon U Saw was a leading Burmese politician and Prime Minister during the colonial era before the Second World War. He is best known for his role in the assassination of Burma's national hero Aung San and other independence leaders in July 1947, only months before Burma gained...

, a conservative pre-war Prime Minister of Burma, engineered the assassination of Aung San and several members of his cabinet on while meeting in the Secretariat on July 19, 1947 U Pe Khin became the minister the new cabinet formed by Thakin Nu.

Diplomatic carrier

Pe Khin was appointed as Burma’s first Ambassador to Pakistan in 1947. He was then sent as the Ambassador to Thailand from 1953 to 1956. He was later transferred to Laos, Cambodia, USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Malaysia and Singapore in his 25 years of diplomatic service and retired in 1972.

Activities in the NGOs

Active in Burma Muslim Congress
Burma Muslim Congress
The Burma Muslim Congress , was founded almost at the same time as the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League of General Aung San and U Nu before World War II. On 25 December 1945 in Pyin Mana, U Razak was elected the President of BMC and decided to join AFPFL. U Razak was elected AFPFL President in...

 together with U Razak
U Razak
U Razak was a Burmese politician and an educationalist. He was a cabinet minister in Aung San's pre-independence interim government, and was assassinated on 19 July 1947 along with six other cabinet ministers. July 19th is commemorated each year as Martyrs' Day in Myanmar...

 and Khin Maung Latt since 1945.
Patron of the Burma Islamic Council and Burmese Muslim Organization.
Participated as the delegation in the drawing of the new constitution.

Published books

  • Panglong
    Panglong Conference
    The Panglong Conference , held in February 1947, was an historic meeting that took place at Panglong in the Shan States in Burma between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Aung San, head of the interim Burmese government...

    , An Inside Story
  • AFPFL convention
  • Seed of Panglong Conference
    Panglong Conference
    The Panglong Conference , held in February 1947, was an historic meeting that took place at Panglong in the Shan States in Burma between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Aung San, head of the interim Burmese government...

  • Burma and the Non-aligned policy
  • And numerous articles in English and Burmese

Awards

He was awarded with
  • ‘Maha Tharaesithu’ in the First Honours list given out by the Burmese government after Independence.
  • Country’s Honour First grade on 7 June 1980.

Pe Khin died on 25-2-2004

Reference

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK