U Nu
| Nu နု |
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|---|---|
Official portrait
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| 1st Prime Minister of Burma | |
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In office 4 January 1948 – 12 June 1956 |
|
| President |
Sao Shwe Thaik Ba U |
| Preceded by |
Office created Aung San (British Burma) |
| Succeeded by | Ba Swe |
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In office 28 February 1957 – 28 October 1958 |
|
| President | Ba U |
| Preceded by | Ba Swe |
| Succeeded by | Ne Win |
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In office 4 April 1960 – 2 March 1962 |
|
| President | Win Maung |
| Preceded by | Ne Win |
| Succeeded by | Ne Win |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 May 1907 Wakema, Myaungmya District, British Burma |
| Died | 14 February 1995 (aged 87) Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Political party | AFPFL |
| Spouse(s) | Mya Yi (m. 1935; d. 1993) |
| Children | San San Nu Thaung Htaik Maung Aung Than Than Nu Khin Aye Nu |
| Alma mater | University of Rangoon |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
Office created
Nu (Burmese: နု; pronounced: [nṵ]; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), known honorifically as U Nu (Burmese: ဦးနု; pronounced: [ʔú nṵ]) or Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman, Social Democratic politician, nationalist, and political figure of the 20th century. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the provisions of the 1947 Constitution of the Union of Burma, from 4 January 1948 to 12 June 1956, again from 28 February 1957 to 28 October 1958, and finally from 4 April 1960 to 2 March 1962.
Nu was born to U San Tun and Daw Saw Khin of Wakema, Myaungmya District, British Burma. He attended Myoma High School in Yangon, and received a B.A. from Rangoon University in 1929. In 1935 he married Mya Yi while studying for a Bachelor of Laws.
Nu's political life started as president of the Rangoon University Students Union (RUSU) with Mr. M. A. Rashid as Vice-President and [U Thi Han] as the General Secretary. Aung San was Editor and Publicity Officer. Nu and Aung San were both expelled from the university after an article, Hell Hound Turned Loose, appeared in the union magazine, which was obviously about the Rector. Their expulsion sparked off the second university students' strike in February 1936. Aung San and Nu became members of the nationalist Dobama Asiayone (We Burmans Association) which had been formed in 1930 and henceforth gained the prefix Thakin ('Master'), proclaiming they were the true masters of their own land. For a few years after independence in 1948 Nu retained the prefix 'Thakin', but around 1952 he announced that since Burma was already independent the prefix of 'Thakin' was no longer needed and henceforth he would be known as U ('Mr') Nu. In 1937 he co-founded with Thakin Than Tun the Nagani (Red Dragon) Book Club which for the first time widely circulated Burmese-language translations of the Marxist classics. He also became a leader and co-founder of the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), which later became the Socialist Party, and the umbrella organisation the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), which advocated Burmese independence from both Japanese and British control during the 1940s. He was detained by the colonial government in 1940 along with Thakin Soe, Thakin Than Tun, Kyaw Nyein, U Măd, and Dr. Ba Maw. The prison holding Nu was largely abandoned by the British in the course of the rapid Japanese advance.
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