"Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is fond of bestowing titles on loyalists and receiving honors from allies—but he also has a habit of awarding prestigious titles on himself. As well as the six decorations he received before the coup—including honors from Thailand and Malaysia—the senior general has amassed at least 12 titles. That makes him the most heavily decorated military dictator in Myanmar’s modern history. The most recent vanity honor came on February 5, when Yangon University handed him an Honorary Doctorate in Public Administration. Education Minister Chaw Chaw Sein said the degree was awarded in recognition of his “successful” management of challenges during the country’s transitional period, including the recent election. “Awarding him a title for ‘managing’ the country is absurd. People in Myanmar and around the world know Min Aung Hlaing as the man who led the country to ruin—economically, socially, politically, and in every other way,” said Daw Hnin Hnin Mway, general secretary of the Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), which boycotted the election. Chaw Chaw Sein presented the award to her boss in person, months after being promoted as education minister by Min Aung Hlaing last July. The “successful election” she mentioned was in reality a staggered vote held in three phases, as large parts of the country remained beyond junta control. Staged five years after the military ousted the elected National League for Democracy and jailed its leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, the poll recorded the lowest turnout of the four elections held since 2010. A year after leading the coup, Min Aung Hlaing awarded himself two high-ranking national titles: the Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma, for “exceptional service to the nation,” and the Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu, awarded for “outstanding efforts to realize the Union.” His “service to the nation” was to deprive Myanmar of years of democratic and economic progress after decades of isolation under military rule. His supposed “efforts to realize the Union,” meanwhile, take the form of military attacks on ethnic civilians—non-military targets—that continue to this day. The junta chief has also bestowed honorary titles upon his wife, close cronies, loyal ethnic leaders, and even deceased artists. In doing so, he ignored Article 205 of the Constitution, the which stipulates that authority to confer national titles belongs solely to the country’s president. Myint Swe held the position of acting president at the time, but Min Aung Hlaing signed off on these awards—including his own—in his capacity as the chairman of the State Administration Council (junta chief)..... Awards from Russia.....Russia’s military academy awarded Min Aung Hlaing an Honorary Professorship in 2021 as reward for strengthening ties with Moscow following the coup. In 2023, he was bestowed an honorary doctorate for his “humanitarian work”, along with other titles. His major humanitarian legacy is the 3.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently fleeing conflict across the country.....Honors from Thailand and Malaysia.....Min Aung Hlaing received three titles from Thailand and Malaysia before staging the coup in 2021. However, international human rights groups urged Malaysia to revoke his honors in 2018 following the Rohingya genocide. Min Aung Hlaing now faces international arrest warrants for overseeing the ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State. At home, the nationalist Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) also awarded him three titles in 2019 and 2020. As his collection of medals and honors continues to grow—a reflection of self-aggrandizement and quest for legitimacy—Min Aung Hlaing has overseen five years of economic collapse, with record price surges for basic commodities, gold and the US dollar. Meanwhile, the rule of law has deteriorated so severely that many are questioning whether it exists at all..."