Yin Yin Nwe
| Yin Yin Nwe ရင်ရင်နွယ် | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1952 (age 62–63) Kengtung, Shan State, Myanmar |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Spouse(s) | Phyo Wai Win (divorced) |
| Parents | Sao Saimong, Mi Mi Khaing |
| Alma mater | Rangoon University University of Cambridge |
| Profession | University Professor Geologist UNICEF Representative to China |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
Yin Yin Nwe (born c.1952) is a Burmese geologist. She has held important positions with UNICEF since 1991, and was appointed UNICEF Representative to China on 1 December 2006.
Biography
Yin Yin Nwe's father is Sao Saimong Mangrai, a member of the princely Kengtung State and a highly regarded scholar on Shan State and the Head of the Shan State Education Department during the post-Independence years. Yin Yin Nwe's mother is Daw Mi Mi Khaing, also a scholar and a former Principal of Kambawza School. Her father, Sao Saimong, had an administrative career after the Shan principalities agreed to become part of the Union of Burma, and was Chief Education Officer for Shan and Kayah States. Her mother was the author of Burmese Family, a book on Burmese culture and was one of the first women to write in English about Burmese culture and traditions.[1][2] Yin Yin Nwe is of Mon ancestry on her mother's side[2] and of Tai ancestry on her father's side, given that the state of Kengtung originated in the 13th century, when the Chiang Mai dynasty founded a new kingdom which was named Lanna, sending a prince to Kengtung to establish a separate kingdom.
Yin Yin Nwe obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Yangon University and later finished a PHD in the Earth Sciences from the University of Cambridge.[3] She served for 19 years at the Geology Department of Yangon University.
In 1991, Yin Yin Nwe joined UNICEF as an Environment Project Officer and from 1992 to 1994, she was UNICEF Programme Officer for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Central Asian Republics and Albania. From 1994 to 1999, she worked a regional advisor for western and central Africa in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.[3] In 1999, she was appointed UNICEF Regional Planning Officer for the Middle East and North Africa and in June 2005 appointed UNICEF Chief of Tsunami Support and did much work in Indonesia to help victims. She become the UNICEF Representative to China on 1 December 2006.[1][3]
Personal life
She is fluent in English, French and Bahasa Indonesia and in 2006 was reported to be learning to speak Chinese fluently due to her new position.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Burmese Geologist Dr. Yin Yin Nwe Will Take up UNICEF Representative Post for China". Voa News. November 15, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Trager, Helen G. (1969). We the Burmese: Voices from Burma. Praeger. p. 111.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Dr. Yin Yin Nwe UNICEF Representative for China". UNICEF. Retrieved November 11, 2010.