Myanmar’s top general Min Aung Hlaing was months from retirement when he made a dictatorial about-face nearly five years ago, deposing the democratic government and promoting himself to leader.The bespectacled and diminutive officer became military chief in 2011, as Myanmar broke with its history of iron-fisted martial rule and began its latest experiment with democracy.The 69-year-old soldier spent a decade jostling with civilian leaders before overturning them in a coup, jailing Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering a vicious civil war that is still ongoing.He is now presiding over a poll due to start Sunday, promising it will return peace and democracy despite scepticism at home and abroad.- General non grata -Min Aung Hlaing was born in Dawei city in Myanmar’s elongated southern reach, studying at university before enrolling into officer training school — albeit on his third attempt.He rose through the ranks, burnishing his credentials by leading a campaign battling an ethnic rebel insurrection around crucial trade crossings with China.His predecessor Than Shwe directly ruled Myanmar for nearly two decades, but it was Min Aung Hlaing’s rare fate to be a top general under civilian command.A military-drafted constitution still gave him a central role in politics, though, with a quarter of parliamentary seats and essential cabinet positions reserved for his officers.Before the coup, Min Aung Hlaing was already persona non grata in many countries for commanding a 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya minority that drove around 750,000 people into Bangladesh.He was banned from Facebook for stoking hate speech, heavily sanctioned, and the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor is seeking his arrest for crimes against humanity.Min Aung Hlaing has said military operations were justified to root out insurgents and steadfastly denies allegations of human rights abuses.He also embarked on an ambitious and expensive programme to outfit the army with modern equipment, sourcing weapons and hardware from China, Russia and Israel.Every March 27 he oversees a parade of troops and materiel in the capital Naypyidaw for Armed Forces Day, standing on an open-top jeep and festooned with his many military and civilian awards.His official title in state media is “State Security and Peace Commission Chairman Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing”.But as his nomenclature has become longer, the number of soldiers assembled for inspection has shrunk each year with embattled forces deployed to frontlines elsewhere.- Reinforced rule -In 2021 Min Aung Hlaing was about to turn 65 — mandatory military retirement age at the time — when he toppled Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government and jailed her.He claimed her National League for Democracy party had swept a landslide electoral victory over pro-military parties by means of voter fraud.Analysts at the time said he was probably anxious about the military’s waning power.Security forces crushed pro-democracy protests, but activists quit the cities to fight as guerrillas alongside ethnic rebels — including those Min Aung Hlaing battled earlier in his career.There is no official death toll for Myanmar’s civil war and estimates vary widely.According to non-profit organisation Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which tallies media reports of violence, 90,000 have been killed on all sides since the coup.That number almost certainly includes conscripts the military has begun forcibly recruiting to bolster its ranks.Min Aung Hlaing ruled by fiat as military chief over four years of emergency rule after the coup.He ended the state of emergency this summer and handed back power to the president’s office — which he also occupies.Many analysts, democracy monitors and Myanmar citizens believe the election is most likely to see a power transfer from Min Aung Hlaing to himself.