Tin Oo, Co-Founder of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy, Passes Away at 97

Tin Oo, a key associate of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and co-founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD), died at 97 on June 1, 2024. He passed away at Yangon General Hospital, having been hospitalized since May 29 due to health issues. The exact cause of death was not disclosed.

In 1988, Tin Oo co-founded the NLD with Suu Kyi after a failed uprising against military rule, later serving as vice-chairman and then chairman. Following a military crackdown in 1989, he spent significant periods under house arrest and imprisonment, similar to Suu Kyi. He was released ahead of the 2010 general election.

Tin Oo resumed political activities as a senior leader and patron of the NLD, playing a prominent role in public rallies and the successful 2015 election campaign. His military background included serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces from 1974 to 1976.

The veteran politician remained in his Yangon home after the military coup in 2021 that ousted Suu Kyi’s government, despite her subsequent arrest and trials. Tin Oo’s death marks the end of an era in Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement.