Maung Maung; Civilian President of Burma for a Month

Maung Maung, 69, a Western-educated intellectual who ruled for one month in 1988 as the only civilian president of Burma, now called Myanmar. Maung Maung became president Aug. 18, 1988, when his predecessor was ousted by student-led pro-democracy demonstrations after 17 days in office. Military rulers apparently believed that Maung Maung’s civilian status would help quell the protests. But they escalated, and Defense Minister Gen. Saw Maung took power Sept. 18. The military crushed the unrest in bloody attacks on the protesters. Lt. Gen. Than Shwe took over as head of the junta in April, 1992. Maung Maung was the only civilian among four presidents who ruled under the one-party socialist system imposed by military leader Gen. Ne Win in 1962 and abandoned after the 1988 demonstrations. In Yangon, formerly Rangoon, Saturday of a heart attack.