Aung San Suu Kyi to hold cabinet rank in Myanmar government

Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will hold a cabinet rank in the Myanmar government, her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has announced ending weeks of speculation. A list of 18 names was announced after it was submitted to parliament and read out by the speaker, Mann Win Khaing Than.

It is still not clear which ministry Suu Kyi, the leader of NLD who rode the party to victory in the historic elections, will head. The move ensures the Nobel peace laureate will hold a high cabinet rank despite being barred from the presidency by the junta-drafted constitution. She is also the only woman appointed to the cabinet.

"I hereby present the list of names for those who should become union ministers, proposed to the parliament by the president-elect," Khaing Than said. The names will be ratified by the lawmakers later this week during a parliamentary vote.

Suu Kyi is widely expected to assume the role of foreign minister since it would grant her a seat in the powerful National Defence and Security Council, which is still dominated by the military. Regardless of what official position she holds, Suu Kyi has already made it clear that she will be running the show.

Besides the high-profile foreign ministry, Suu Kyi is likely to have her eyes on three key ministries like energy and education, areas which badly need serious reforms.

"It doesn't matter how many ministries she takes as she will run the whole government anyway," Win Htein, senior NLD leader and a close aide of Suu Kyi, confirmed to the Guardian.