YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s president announced a major Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, a move analysts see as advancing the once-pariah nation’s reformist agenda.
The shake-up is the biggest since President Thein Sein’s government took office from the former military junta in March 2011 and launched a wave of dramatic reforms that have surprised the world and prompted Western powers to ease crippling sanctions.
The announcement made late Monday on the president’s official website said the overhaul affects nine of several dozen Cabinet posts. Some 15 new deputy ministers are also being appointed.
Among the most prominent changes is the replacement of former Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, widely seen as a hard-liner. He was replaced by Labor and Social Welfare Minister Aung Kyi, who has also acted as a liaison between the government and pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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