Exclusive: Myanmar’s Dictator Wants to Rebuild Ties With the West

Sep 23, 2026 12:00 AM UTCMin Aung Hlaing inside the Presidential office on Aug. 28, 2026, in Naypyidaw.Min Aung Hlaing inside the Presidential office on Aug. 28, 2026, in Naypyidaw.Photograph by Jes Aznar for TIME Sep 23, 2026 12:00 AM UTCFirst came the mirror. Before Min Aung Hlaing enters the room for his first Western media interview since seizing power in a 2021 coup d’état, aides maneuver an ornate Rococo revival looking glass into place for preening. Then come requests for his portrait: light him from the left, the better to disguise a thinning hairline no longer hidden beneath an olive cap.Myanmar’s former commander in chief now calls himself President, following January elections widely condemned as fraudulent. His fitful transformation from generalissimo to civilian statesman extends even to awkward attempts at bonhomie. He confesses to loving golf—he plays off an 18 handicap—though a bad back has lately kept him from the fairway.Yet the makeover has limits. The geniality fades when questions turn to human rights, narcotics trafficking, or sanctioned relatives. Even his birthplace remains classified. “I used to revisit my township very often, so if you can carefully watch ...