Myint Swe, president under Myanmar's junta, dies, state broadcaster reports

(Reuters) -Myint Swe, who became Myanmar's president during a 2021 coup against an elected civilian government and immediately handed power to the military, has died a year after going on medical leave, the state broadcaster said on Thursday.

The 74-year-old former general died in hospital on Thursday morning, state-run MRTV said.

He became nominal president after the incumbent Win Myint was arrested during the coup alongside Nobel laureate and de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. They have been detained ever since.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup plunged the Southeast Asian nation into civil war, with the military fighting to contain a rebellion and accused of widespread atrocities, which it denies.

Myint Swe had served as vice president under Myanmar's quasi-civilian system before becoming the figurehead president. The junta had depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its rule.

He was placed on medical leave in July last year, with his duties passed to junta chief and armed forces commander Min Aung Hlaing.

Last week, the military nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim government ahead of a planned election later this year, with the military chief remaining in charge of the war-torn country in his other role as acting president.

(Reporting by Reuters reporters; Writing by John Mair; Editing by David Stanway)

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