Kyi Maung was born on 20 December 1920 to Ngwe Khin and her husband Po Thein in Rangoon, British Burma to a family of Teochew-Burmese heritage. He enrolled in Rangoon University in 1936, and became a fervent anti-colonialist. He participated in 1938 nationwide strikes and rallies against the British colonial regime. He nearly died after he was severely beaten in his head by the police on 20 December 1938, which is now commemorated as Bo Aung Kyaw Day in Myanmar. He was by his fellow student striker Aung Kyaw, who was also severely beaten by the police, until Aung Kyaw's last breath.
Career
Kyi Maung was a final year student in 1941 when he left university to join the Burma Independence Army to fight the British colonial government. In 1943, he was sent to Japan for officer training school, from which he graduated in 1945. Upon return, he joined No. 5 Burma Rifles. He eventually rose to the rank of Battalion Commander when he was sent to the US for further training between 1955 and 1956. He was promoted to regional commander in 1960 when he became head of Yangon Command. Col. Kyi Maung was one of the 18 senior officers that seized power from the democratically elected government of U Nu in 1962. Later that year, he was reassigned to Southwestern Command. In 1963, he was forced out of the army and the council after he disagreed with Gen. Ne Win, the leader of the council, regarding the military's role in government. The army continued to keep tabs on him when he retired and was put under arrest a couple of times. After being released from his seven years of confinement, he was selected to be part of the Executive Committee of the political party, National League for Democracy, which was led by Aung SanSuu Kyi until her house arrest in July 1989, after which Kyi Maung became its leader. Under his leadership, the NLD won a substantial majority in the parliament during the 1990 elections. The result, however, was not officially recognized by the ruling military junta then. Kyi Maung went to prison four times. Gen. Ne Win sent him to prison twice for a total of seven years between 1963 and 1987. He was jailed for a month in 1988 and imprisoned for five years from 1990 to 1995. He quit the NLD in 1997 over conflicting views within the party. Although the reason for his departure was never publicly made known, he reportedly "had sharp differences with Suu Kyi".
Kyi Maung spent much time meditating Vipassanā style. He died on 19 August 2004 at his Yangon residence. He was married to Kyi Kyi and they had two children.
