Thein Nyunt (politician)

Thein Nyunt won a parliamentary seat in the 1990 Myanmar general election, representing Thingangyun Township in Yangon.^[4] Thein Nyunt served as a member of the National League for Democracy's Central Executive Committee.

In the lead-up to the 2010 Myanmar general election, Thein Nyunt left the NLD to co-found the National Democratic Force, a new political party, with Khin Maung Swe.^[5] The NDF contested the 2010 election, but Thein Nyunt later resigned due to internal party funding problems and ran as an independent. He won a Pyithu Hluttaw seat, representing Thingangyun Township.^[5] In July 2011, he announced that he had formed a new political party, the New National Democratic Party (NNDP), to contest the 2015 Myanmar general election.^[5] He ultimately lost the race to Shwe Hla Win, a member of the NLD.^[6]

In advance of the 2020 Myanmar general election, Thein Nyunt formed an alliance with the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).^[7] The USDP pledged not to contest the Thingyangyun Township seat to improve Thein Nyunt's odds of winning the race.^[7] Thein Nyunt's son, Nay Aung, a co-founder of the NNDP, disavowed his father's military alliance, and reported the incident to the Union Election Commission.^[7] Thein Nyunt met with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Min Aung Hlaing before the 2020 election. Thein Nyunt ultimately lost the 2020 election to an NLD candidate.^[8] He was appointed to the State Administration Council on 2 February 2021, in the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.^[9]