The military seized power in Myanmar nearly 50 years ago, and since then a series of military juntas have ruled (often brutally) the country and repressed democracy. However, President U Thein Sein has slowly opened the country up to democracy, spearheading political and economic liberalization in the country, despite being a senior member of the last dictatorial military junta, reports the Monitor.
“Burma was until just recently a byword for almost every early 21st century ill. But if U Thein Sein gets his way, it may soon become a model for peaceful democratic change,” said Burmese historian Thant Myint-U, who wrote the president’s entry for TIME.
