Senior general (Burmese: ဗိုလ်ချုပ်မှူးကြီး) is the highest rank in Myanmar Armed Forces. It is held by the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services (CinCDS). Since 2011, a person appointed as CinCDS has to be quickly promoted one higher rank every year until he get the rank of Senior general.
The rank insignia of Senior general is with a big star surrounded by a flower branch and with four small stars. Its rank medal and car insignia show that it is the five-star general rank, and the flag of CinCDS confirms it. The rank of Senior general is two ranks higher than that of a General (a full General), but in terms of stars, the Senior general has only one more star than the General.
The Senior general rank exists in all branches: Myanmar Army, Myanmar Navy and Myanmar Air Force, but all these ranks are to be held by the same person at a time no matter from which branch he was promoted. A person holding the rank of Senior general can wear any uniform from all these branches.[1][2]
Burmese title | English title | Rank insignia | Golden strap [3] |
Rank medal [3][4] |
Car insignia [5][6] |
Flag[6][7][8] | ||
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ဗိုလ်ချုပ်မှူးကြီး | Senior general | ![]() |
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Insignia on regular uniform |
of Myanmar Army | of Myanmar Navy [1] |
of Myanmar Air Force [2] |
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In 1990, the Myanmar Armed Forces expanded its structure, and the then Commander-in-Chief General Saw Maung promoted himself to Senior General rank on 18 March 1990.[9] Thus, he became the first person to hold the rank of Senior general.
No. | Photo | Name | Date of promotion | Date of retirement | Remark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Saw Maung | 18 March 1990 [9] | 24 April 1992 [10] | Promoted directly from General[10] | |
2 | ![]() |
Than Shwe | 23 April 1993 [10] | 30 March 2011 [10] | Promoted directly from General[10] |
3 | ![]() |
Min Aung Hlaing | March 2013[11][12] | – | Promoted from Vice-senior general |