In the lead-up to today’s formal commencement of Burma’s hybrid parliamentary-authoritarian system of government, The Irrawaddy offers an interesting summary of (former) General Thura Shwe Mann’s career and prospects. Peppered with a selection of impossible to verify scuttlebutt it is, nonetheless, probably the best available account of his rise to the top.

If New Mandala readers know more about Shwe Mann than is reported by The Irrawaddy then perhaps this would be a good opportunity to put that knowledge on the record. We would all love to learn more.