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Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Myanmar's president, Thein Sein, has become the first head of state from the recently reformed country to visit Australia since 1974.
Since coming to power in 2011 and instituting a number of economic and political reforms Mr Thein Sein has slowly but surely been welcomed back into the global community.
In September last year, the 67-year-old former general promised the UN General Assembly in New York that his democratic reforms in Myanmar are "irreversible".
So far his administration has freed hundreds of political prisoners, held an historic parliamentary election and relaxed censorship laws.
In recognition of these reforms taking place in the country, Australia, the United States and the European Union have eased sanctions on Myanmar.
He has also been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize for putting the country on a path towards democracy.
But critics warn Mr Thein Sein's reforms are preliminary steps and he has done little to protect the country's ethnic minorities or tackle government corruption.
They say he has consorted with known drug lords and militia leaders.
Mr Thein Sein has made it clear the military will continue to play a key role in politics and he has notably made no apologies for its past actions.
Myanmar's reforms:
- November 2010: The military junta wins the country's first elections to be held in 20 years.
- November 13, 2010: Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi released from house arrest.
- March 2011: Thein Sein is sworn as president.
- May 2011: The first of thousands of prisoners are released from jail in a serious of amnesties.
- August 2011: Aung San Suu Kyi meets with president Thein Sein.
- October 2011: New labour laws are approved, allowing unions and the right to strike.
- November 2011: Myanmar is approved to chair the 2014 ASEAN summit.
- April 2012: Suu Kyi's NLD party wins 43 out of 45 seats in by-elections.
- September 2012: Thein Sein visits the US.
- December 2012: The government says it will allow privately-owned newspapers from April 2013.
But who is Mr Thein Sein?
Born in a small village in the delta of the Irrawaddy River in 1945, Mr Thein Sein came from humble beginnings.
His father made a living weaving bamboo mats and eventually became a Buddhist monk after his wife's death.
Mr Thein Sein studied arts at Myanmar's military academy before steadily rising through the ranks of the ruling junta.
In 1988, the military crushed a widespread democratic uprising, killing Buddhist monks and students who demonstrated against the regime.
Many of Mr Thein Sein's military colleagues claim that he - then a Major - released the activists captured by his battalion.
In the 1990s, he was promoted to the junta's inner circle, joining the State Peace and Development Council.
He was promoted to the first secretary of the council in 2004 and when previous prime minster Soe Win became ill, Mr Thein Sein was made acting prime minster in May 2007.
He played a key role in the drafting of the new constitution as the chair of the National Convention in 2008 and increasingly became the public face of the regime, representing Myanmar at ASEAN and UN meetings.
In 2008, a cyclone swept across Myanmar, killing 80,000 people and shaking the junta's power.
Civilians risked lengthy prison sentences to criticise the government's response to the disaster. For the first time, the regime was forced to accept international aid.
Sensing a shifting wind, the junta's head Than Shwe plotted a quiet exit.
Mr Thein Sein became president in November 2010, following the country's first election in 20 years.
Although many observers saw him as a puppet for Than Shwe, Mr Thein Sein has surprised critics since taking office.
After becoming president, he met with freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and following the meeting, she and her NLD party chose to re enter the political process.
In April last year, the NLD contested by-elections, winning 43 of the 44 seats it contested. The election was seen as largely free and fair by observers.
Take a look back at Myanmar's historic election captured in words and pictures.
Topics: world-politics, burma
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