Suu Kyi nominated for Myanmar cabinet post: speaker

[NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar] Aung San Suu Kyi was nominated to join the cabinet in Myanmar's incoming government on Tuesday, giving the democracy veteran a formal position in the administration, despite being blocked from the presidency.

The Nobel laureate, who has vowed to rule above the next president Htin Kyaw, was named first in a list of ministers read out to lawmakers by the parliament speaker, who did not specify which position she or others would hold.

"I hereby present the list of names for those who should become union ministers, proposed to the parliament by the president-elect," parliament speaker Mann Win Khaing Than told MPs.

A parliamentary vote to confirm the posts is expected later in the week.

Observers say Ms Suu Kyi is likely to take the role of foreign minister, giving her a cabinet post, international clout and a seat at the country's influential Security Council, which is dominated by the still hugely powerful military.

Under Myanmar's complex political rules, the cabinet role means she will likely have to forego her formal position as head of her National League for Democracy, which she led to a stunning victory in historic November elections in the culmination of a decades-long struggle against military rule.

AFP