Who is he?
U Ye Htut was most recently spokesman of the president’s office and deputy minister of information of Myanmar. Formerly a lieutenant colonel in the army, Ye Htut has served in military commands along the Thai-Myanmar border and in northern Myanmar, and as a military instructor in southern Shan state. He was transferred to the Ministry of Information in 2005, where he served as a director general of information and public relations and played a key role in easing media censorship in the country’s reform process.
As the public face of President Thein Sein’s government, Ye Htut earned himself the nickname “Minister for Facebook” for aggressively using social media to communicate government policy and attack critics. His Facebook page boasts more than 75,000 followers.
Ye Htut addressed the opening day of the 2014 East-West Center International Media Conference on the topic of Myanmar’s media reforms. Source: East-WestCenter’s flickr photostream, used under a creative commons license
Why is he in the news?
President Thein Sein on July 30 nominated Ye Htut to be minister of information – one day after Aung Kyi resigned from the position – as part of his latest cabinet reshuffle. His nomination was confirmed by parliament on August 1.
What can we expect from him?
Ye Htut assumed the position amid renewed concerns about media freedom in Myanmar. Authorities recently sentenced five reporters to ten years in prison for publishing about an alleged chemical weapons factory in northern Myanmar, and arrested a number of other journalists.
Expect Ye Htut to take on a high profile in his new position. He will likely use his longstanding relationship with the media to address what he described a “lack of ethics” among many Myanmar journalists.
