Thura Shwe Mann is joint chief of staff of the Burmese Armed Forces, and was the third-highest ranking member of the State Peace and Development Council

State Peace and Development Council

The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....

, after Than Shwe

Than Shwe

Senior General Than Shwe is a Burmese military leader and politician who was chairman of the State Peace and Development Council from 1992 to 2011. During the period, he held key positions of power including commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces and head of Union Solidarity and...

 and Maung Aye

Maung Aye

Vice-Senior General Maung Aye is the former Vice Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council , which was until March 2011, the ruling military junta of Burma. Maung Aye was the second highest-ranking member of the SPDC....

. He graduated in 1969 from the Defence Services Academy

Defence Services Academy

The Defence Services Academy located in Pyin Oo Lwin, is the premier military service academy of Myanmar, training future officers for all three branches of Burmese military. The Ministry of Defence administered academy offers bachelor's degree programs in liberal arts, combined physical sciences,...

, Intake 11. He was promoted to major in 1988. Shwe Mann earned the honorific

Honorific

An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...

 title "Thura" for his bravery in fighting the Karen National Liberation Army

Karen National Liberation Army

The Karen National Liberation Army is the military branch of the Karen National Union , which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Burma. The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1949....

 in 1989, and continued his studies at the National Defence Institute. He was the Tactical Operations Commander for Light Infantry Division (LID) 66, based in Prome

Pyay

Pyay is a town in the Bago Division in Burma. It has an estimated population of 123,800 . Pyay is positioned on the Ayeyarwady River and is northwest of Yangon....

, Northern Bago Division

Bago Division

Bago Region is an administrative region of Burma, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region and Mandalay Region to the north; Kayin State, Mon State and the Gulf of Martaban to the east; Yangon Region to the south and Ayeyarwady Region and Rakhine State...

 in 1991. Shwe Mann joined the Ministry of Defence in 2001, becoming joint chief-of-staff. In 2003, he was promoted to general.

He is married to Khin Lay Thet, and the couple have sons, Toe Naing Mann (born June 29, 1978) and Aung Thet Mann (a.k.a. Shwe Mann Ko Ko, born June 19, 1977)

On 31 January 2011, he was elected Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw

Pyithu Hluttaw

The Pyithu Hluttaw is the lower house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Burma . It consists of 440 members of which 330 are directly elected and 110 appointed by the Myanmar Armed Forces. The last elections to the Pyithu Hluttaw were held in November 2010...

, the lower house of the Burmese parliament

Pyidaungsu Hluttaw

The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is the national-level bicameral legislature of Myanmar established by the 2008 National Constitution...

.