San Yu General San Yu ( , ; 3 March 1918 – 30 January 1996 ) was the Commander in Chief of the Tatmadaw and President of Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma from 9 November 1981 to 27 July 1988 . San Yu studied medicine in Rangoon when World War II broke out and joined the army to serve as a junior officer while Burma was under Japanese occupation . Biography . San Yu , of Burmese Chinese descent , was born in Thegon , Prome and son of U San Pe and Daw Shwe Lai . He studied medicine at Rangoon University ' s Medical College for two years . In 1942 , he quit university and joined the Burma Independence Army in Prome as an officer . Military career . San Yu joined Burmese armed forces on 14 January 1946 as a second lieutenant with 3rd Burma Rifle Battalion . Throughout his army career , San Yu rose through the rank quickly due to his steadfast loyalty towards his superiors . On 23 January 1947 , San Yu was promoted to Captain and became deputy company commander in the same battalion and on 24 February 1949 , three years after joining the army , he was promoted to the rank of Major and became Deputy Battalion Commander of 3rd Burma Rifle . He was made Lieutenant Colonel on 25 November 1949 and given the command of 1st Karenni Rifle Battalion . He was then transferred to 1st Kachin Rifle Battalion on 22 December 1950 . Throughout 1950 and 1951 , he served under Brigadier General Ne Win ' s Northern Regional Military Command in various capacities . He was then transferred to Military Appointment General ' s office within the Ministry of Defense on 17 September 1952 . On 9 March 1956 , he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and became the Commander of Northern Regional Military Command on 25 February 1959 . He was promoted to Brigadier General on 9 April 1959 . He then became Commander of 1st Infantry Brigade on 16 August 1961 , Commander of Eastern Regional Military Command on 16 October 1961 and Commander of North West Regional Military Command on 29 November 1961 . After the 1962 military coup , Brigadier General San Yu became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army on 15 February 1963 . He was promoted to the rank of General and became Commander in Chief of the Tatmadaw ( Armed Forces ) on 20 April 1972 . Civilian career . Brigadier General San Yu was a founding member of the General Ne Win ' s 17 members Union Revolutionary Council ( RC ) that came to power after the military coup overthrowing the civilian government of Prime Minister U Nu on 2 March 1962 . He was appointed as Chairman of the ' New State Constitution Drafting Commission ' ( NSCDC ) which was formed by the Revolutionary Council on 25 September 1971 . During the years 1971 to 1973 , He travelled extensively throughout Burma as Chairman of NSCDC during the ' drafting process ' of Constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma , better known as 1974 Burmese Constitution . On 20 April 1972 , the Revolutionary Council made an announcement that Brigadier General San Yu was promoted to General . General San Yu became General Secretary of the Council of State for the Burma Socialist Programme Party , better known as BSPP , on 26 April 1974 was transferred to Office of the State Council . He retired from the Army on 3 March 1978 . In the closing day of the Fourth Congress of the BSPP , Ne Win also announced his intention to retire from the position of ' President of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma ' after the ' elections ' in October 1981 . On 9 November 1981 the then Burmese Legislature ( " Pyithu Hluttaw " ) elected San Yu as the President of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma . He served in that position until 27 July 1988 and in the post - independence period he became , after Ne Win ( who was President from 4 March 1974 to 9 November 1981 ) the second - longest serving President in post - independent Burma . Ne Win remained chairman of the BSPP , and it was generally understood that he still held the real power . In the fifth BSPP Congress that was held in August 1985 San Yu was formally elected as Vice Chairman of BSPP . From then on till his retirement from both the Party ( BSPP ) and State positions San Yu was termed in the media as Vice Chairman of Burma Socialist Programme Party , President and Chairman of the Council of State , under the provision of the 1974 Constitution the Chairman of the Council of State is also the President of the Republic . On 23 July 1988 , in the opening day of the BSPP Congress , an announcement made by Ne Win that San Yu along with four other Party and State leaders had expressed the wish to retire from both Party and State positions . Though the BSPP Congress rejected the resignations or requests for permission to retire of U Aye Ko , General Secretary and Vice President of the State , U Sein Lwin , Joint General Secretary of BSPP and Secretary of the Council of State , U Tun Tin , BSPP Central Executive Committee member and Deputy Prime Minister , U Kyaw Htin , BSPP Central Executive Committee Member and Defence Minister , the congress accepted the resignations of Ne Win and San Yu from Party and State positions . After his retirement , throughout the turmoil that ensued the 1988 pro - democracy demonstrations and military coup , San Yu lived quietly in his suburban Yangon home and died on 30 January 1996 .