Brigadier General Aung Gyi was a Burmese military officer and politician.
17 Facts About Aung Gyi
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Aung Gyi was a cofounder of the National League for Democracy and served as president of the party.
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Aung Gyi was born to a Burmese Chinese family in Paungde, British Burma in 1919.
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Aung Gyi was member of General Ne Win's 4th Burma Rifles rising to brigadier general.
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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.
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Aung Gyi was ousted in 1963, when he criticized the council's economic policies, and for statements made in Japan about the cause of the 1962 coup.
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Aung Gyi was imprisoned from 1965 to 1968 and again from 1973 to 1974.
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However, Aung Gyi remained loyal to the Tatmadaw, the armed forces, and his connection with Ne Win remained intact despite his later blunt criticism of the government.
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On 7 March 1988, Aung Gyi wrote his first letter to Ne Win, suggesting economic reforms and a new cabinet.
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Aung Gyi strongly criticised the government's Burmese Way to Socialism and warned of possible social unrest.
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Aung Gyi resigned on 3 December 1988 from the National League for Democracy, alleging communist infiltration, to form the Union National Democracy Party on 16 December 1988.
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In 1993 Aung Gyi was sentenced to six months imprisonment for not paying a bill for eggs.
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Aung Gyi blamed the NLD for boycotting the National Convention established to draft a new constitution.
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Aung Gyi said, "I want U Ne Win to contribute something before he dies, because he knows what is right and wrong".
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Aung Gyi stated that Ne Win was still influential and had ordered the State Peace and Development Council to change the name of the government and reshape the cabinet in 1997.
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On 25 October 2012, Aung Gyi died at his home in Mayangone Township, Yangon, Myanmar, because of heart failure.
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Aung Gyi is survived by his wife Mu Mu Thein, four children and five grandchildren.