Chamber of Nationalities

လူမျိုးစုလွှတ်တော်

Lumyozu Hluttaw

TypeType

Upper house

of the Union Parliament

HistoryFounded1948 (1948)Disbanded1962 (1962)Preceded byLegislature of BurmaSucceeded byPeople's Assembly (1974–1988)Seats125Elections

Last election

1960Meeting placeGovernment Secretariat, Rangoon

The Chamber of Nationalities (Burmese: လူမျိုးစုလွှတ်တော်) was the upper house of the bicameral Union Parliament of Burma (Myanmar) from 1948 to 1962. Under the 1947 Constitution, bills initiated and passed by the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, were to be sent to the Chamber of Nationalities for review and revision. The Chamber of Nationalities was primarily formed to give minorities within Burma some political power in the national government.

It consisted of 125 seats, with the constitution providing for specified numbers of representatives from all states and divisions. 25 seats were allotted to Shan State, 12 to Kachin State, 8 seats to Special Division of the Chins (now Chin State), 3 seats to Karenni State (now Kayah State), 24 to ethnic Karens, and 53 to all other territories (including divisions), including 4 seats reserved for the Anglo-Burmese community. The parliament was abolished after Ne Win suspended the 1947 Constitution following a military coup on 3 March 1962.^[1]

A single-party unicameral People's Assembly replaced the parliament in 1974.

Speakers of the Chamber of Nationalities

Name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Sao Shwe Thaik	March 1952^[1]	1960	^[2]
Sao Hkun Kyi	11 April 1960^[1]	March 1962	^[3]^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "World Parliaments in Brief".
^ Houtman, Gustaaf (1990). Traditions of Buddhist Practice in Burma. School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. p. 275.
^ "Who's who in Burma 1961". People's Literature Committee and House. August 1, 1961 – via Google Books.
^ "Political Handbook and Atlas of the World". Harper & Row [etc.] for Council on Foreign Relations. January 4, 1961 – via Google Books.