Khun Sa

Khun Sa
Khun Sa at his jungle headquarters in Myanmar (Burma), 1988
Native name	Burmese: ခွန်ဆာ Chinese: 張奇夫
Birth name	Sai Sa
Born	17 February 1934 Loi Maw, Mongyai, British Burma
Died	26 October 2007 (2007-10-27) (aged 73) Yangon, Myanmar
Allegiance	Mong Tai Army Shan United Revolutionary Army
Rank	Commander-in-chief
Battles/wars	Internal conflict in Myanmar
Other work	Shan warlord

Khun Sa (Burmese: ခွန်ဆာ, pronounced: [kʰʊ̀ɴ sʰà]), also known as Chang Chi-fu (Chinese: 張奇夫; pinyin: Zhāng Qífú; Thai: จันทร์ จางตระกูล; rtgs: Chan Changtrakul; 17 February 1934 – 26 October 2007), was a Shan warlord. He was born in Hpa Hpeung village, in the Loi Maw ward of Mongyai, British Burma.

He was dubbed the "Opium King" in Myanmar due to his massive opium smuggling operations in the Golden Triangle. He was commander-in-chief of the Mong Tai Army from 1985 to 1996 and the Shan United Revolutionary Army in 1996.

Khun Sa was born to a Chinese father and a Shan mother. He adopted the pseudonym Khun Sa, meaning "Prince Prosperous". In his youth he trained with the Kuomintang, which fled into the border regions of Burma from Yunnan upon its defeat in the Chinese Civil War, and eventually went to form his own army of a few hundred men. In 1963 he re-formed it into a Ka Kwe Ye local militia loyal to Gen Ne Win's Burmese government. The Ka Kwe Ye received money, uniforms and weapons in return for fighting the Shan State Army.