Aung San Suu Kyi’s close aide is Myanmar President

Htin Kyaw, 69, is set to serve as a proxy for Ms Suu Kyi.

Myanmar’s lawmakers on Tuesday elected a close aide and longtime friend of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi to become the country’s first civilian President in decades, a historic moment for the formerly junta-run nation.

Mr Htin Kyaw, 69, hailed his elevation to the top post as “Suu Kyi’s victory”, a clear nod to her plan for him to serve as a proxy for Ms Suu Kyi who is constitutionally barred from becoming President.

MPs erupted into applause after the victory was announced following a lengthy ballot count in which Mr Htin Kyaw took 360 of 652 votes cast. Myanmar is in the grip of a stunning transformation from an isolated pariah state to a rapidly opening aspiring democracy. Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a thumping victory in November.