From Thein Sein’s reforms through Aung San Suu Kyi’s democracy, and the 2021 military coup that buried both, a trio of high-profile officials climbed the ranks of Naypyitaw’s bureaucracy, earning the moniker “Z Series.”
Zaw Htay, Zaw Min Tun, and Zaw Zaw Soe forged their alliance while studying together in the Defense Services Academy’s 37th intake.
The nickname stuck after they rose to prominence during the National League for Democracy government. Zaw Htay was appointed government spokesperson, while Zaw Min Tun rose in the military and became its mouthpiece after the coup, dubbed the regime’s biggest liar for defending its violence and atrocities.
Zaw Zaw Soe, meanwhile, served as an army brigadier-general before building a reputation for corruption at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, joining as director of the legal and consular department. During his military career, he spent a year at the Nanjing Army Command College under the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Fluent in Mandarin, he often acted as interpreter when senior Chinese delegations met Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. But according to a former ministry official, Beijing disliked his role and once requested that another interpreter be used.
Zaw Zaw Soe was already entrenched, however, having cultivated ties with then‑Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin under President Thein Sein. He later served as deputy chief of mission in Israel. When relations with his superior in Tel Aviv soured, he was posted to Hong Kong as consul. It was there that his reputation for corruption emerged. He later moved to the Defense Ministry before returning to the Foreign Ministry after the 2021 coup.
On March 25, 2025, the junta appointed him to lead its mission in Thailand. “Appointing Zaw Zaw Soe, infamous for his greed, as ambassador to Thailand was like throwing him into a gold mine,” said one Foreign Ministry staffer who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) after the coup.
Among Myanmar’s foreign missions, embassies in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore are considered the most lucrative postings, thanks to potential profits from passport issuance, renewals, and visa services for large numbers of migrant workers. Once in Bangkok, Zaw Zaw Soe introduced new rules, tightening passport procedures to line his pocket. He barred Myanmar migrants from converting their Certificates of Identity (CI) to passports, blocked Passport for Visit (PV) holders from switching to work visas, and halted renewals of expired passports. All three services were channeled to black-market brokers. Even the rule that expired passports must be sent back to Naypyitaw for renewal could be bypassed with a cash payment.
“Under Zaw Zaw Soe’s watch, if you had money, anything was possible,” said one broker. “Even blacklisted individuals could get passports.”
While the junta barred CDM members and prominent activists from obtaining passports, brokers working with the embassy gladly accommodated them in exchange for 150,000–200,000 baht per head.
“His involvement in issuing passports to blacklisted people has now been exposed. He has apparently ‘eaten too much,’” said another broker with ties to the Bangkok embassy.
Zaw Zaw Soe was recalled to Naypyitaw last month, leaving his future hanging in the balance long after his friends exited the stage.
Zaw Htay resigned following the coup and was detained for several months after criticizing the junta. He died of a heart attack in 2022 aged just 49. Zaw Min Tun was purged and pensioned off after being implicated in kickbacks from a Chinese drone purchase.
That leaves only Zaw Zaw Soe, the last surviving member of Naypyitaw’s remarkable “Z Series.” Whether he will share the fate of his two comrades remains to be seen.