We had wondered and now we know.
Myanmar’s president, Htin Kyaw, is a cat guy.
Sorry dog lovers. The president was spotted at a Burmese cat conservation spot in Inle Lake over the weekend.
A Facebook post by the sanctuary, Inle Heritage, read: “President U Htin Kyaw stopped by Inle Heritage over the weekend. He went around carrying Marco, the youngest of our clowder. He met up with our fourth batch of vocational students, learned more about Inle’s endemic fishes and our waste and wastewater management. Thank you for your time, Mr. President. Marco will miss you.”
He and First Lady Su Su Lwin visited Shan state on October 8, stopping off at Inle Lake and Kalaw, among other places.
They also did some shopping.
Htin Kyaw was inaugurated in March as a stand-in for Aung San Suu Kyi after she took her party to election victory last year.
Suu Kyi can’t be president because of a constitutional clause forbidding anyone with a foreign spouse or children from taking the post. Her children are British nationals.
Instead, she is foreign minister and state counsellor, a powerful but vaguely defined role that has helped her serve as Myanmar’s de facto leader.
A longtime confidante of Suu Kyi’s, Htin Kyaw has proved very popular as president despite the largely ceremonial nature of the job.
In the photo above, which was shared widely on social media in Myanmar, he is holding one of many grey-colored Burmese breeds at the conservation house, which is located on the lake.
The cat, it seems, is in good hands.
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