Aung Gyi

Brigadier General Aung Gyi ( ; 16 February 1919 – 25 October 2012) was a Burmese military officer and politician. He was a cofounder of the National League for Democracy and served as president of the party. Early life He was born to a Burmese Chinese family in Paungde, British Burma in 1919. His Chinese name was Chén Wàngzhī. Military career Aung Gyi was member of General Ne Win's 4th Burma Rifles rising to brigadier general. He played a role in the caretaker government of 1958-1960 led by Ne Win. Aung Gyi was number two in the Union Revolutionary Council set up after the 1962 coup, serving as vice-chief of staff and minister of trade and industry until he was forced to resign on 8 February 1963 because of disagreements over economic policy with Ba Nyein and Tin Pe. He was once known as Ne Win's heir apparent. In his memoirs, Saturday's Son, published in 1974, U Nu, then prime minister of Myanmar, claimed that his handover of power to the caretaker government was not voluntary but that a group of army officers led by Brigadier Aung Gyi and Brigadier Maung Maung threatened him with a "straight military coup" should he refuse to handover power to Ne Win. The suggestion that this coup was mainly led by Brigadier Aung Gyi and Maung Maung was supported Col Hla Maw, former commanding officer of 11th Brigade.