Henry Van Thio

Henry Van Thio (Burmese: ဟင်နရီဗန်ထီးယူ; MLCTS: hang na.ri banhti: yu; born 9 August 1958) is a Burmese politician who has been Second Vice-President of Myanmar (Burma) since 2016. He previously served as an Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities) member of parliament. In the 2015 election, he contested and won the Chin State No. 3 constituency for a seat in the country's upper house. He was sworn in as the Second Vice-President on 30 March 2016.

He is an ethnic Chin and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Mandalay Arts and Science University, with a Graduate Diploma in Law from Rangoon Arts and Science University. He previously served as a Major in the Burmese Army.

On 10 March 2016, he was nominated as one of the Vice Presidents of Myanmar by National League for Democracy.

On 11 March 2016, 148 MPs nominated him as one of the Vice Presidents of Myanmar from the House of Nationalities and on 15 March 2016, he received 79 votes out of 352 in the Assembly of the Union, becoming the Second Vice President of Myanmar. He was sworn in on 30 March 2016.

He is married to Anna Shwe Lwan (known as Anna Sui Hluan in English speaking countries) and has three children. When his wife gained a scholarship to study theology at the University of Otago, the family moved to New Zealand to live in the Dunedin suburb of North East Valley in 2011. He supported the family through casual work, like picking fruit in Nelson and shift work at the freezing works at Finegand, near Balclutha. The family returned to Myanmar in early 2015.

He is a devout Christian, making him the first non-Buddhist to hold the office of the Vice President of Myanmar. He is a member of the United Pentecostal Church International.