Suu Kyi's ex-driver, close aide U Htin Kyaw named NLD's presidential nominee

Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) has formally nominated a former driver and a close aide of their leader Aung San Suu Kyi for president.

U Htin Kyaw, a trusted advisor, has been nominated at the NLD's candidate in a session of the lower house.

The military -backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has also nominated Sai Mauk Kham, its vice president, as candidate for the lower house. U Khin Aung Myint, a former speaker of the upper house, is expected to be named as the UNDP's upper house candidate.

The two chambers will vote separately, possibly later today, to select one candidate each.

U Htin Kyaw, according to the Myanmar Times, has long been trusted by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The 69-year-old Oxford graduate with a degree in economics hails from an illustrious family and is a senior executive in the NLD leader's charitable foundation. Loyalty will have been his strongest attribute in his selection.

U Htin Kyaw has been described as practically descended from NLD royalty. His father was the famous writer and poet Min Thu Wun, who won a seat in the 1990 election. His father-in-law, U Lwin, was a co-founder of the NLD and held the position of secretary and treasurer. Both have since passed away.

Born in 1946, U Htin Kyaw is a year younger than Aung San Suu Kyi. He graduated from Yangon University of Economics in 1962 and received his degree from Oxford a decade later. He writes under the pen name Bala Dan.

He is married to Su Su Lwin, daughter of U Lwin and a member of the Pyithu Hluttaw.