Htin Kyaw, a former driver for Aung San Suu Kyi and a close friend, was nominated to be Myanmar`s first civilian president in decades on Thursday.
He will act as a proxy for Suu Kyi who is barred from the presidency by the military-drafted constitution because she has foreign-born children.
So what now for Suu Kyi and the impoverished but hopeful nation she plans to lead from behind the scenes?
Htin Kyaw has been nominated but still needs to be assessed for suitability by the same constitution that bars Suu Kyi and then voted into office by Myanmar`s two legislatures over the coming days.
Barring last minute upsets, that vote should be a forgone conclusion — both houses are comfortably dominated by Suu Kyi`s party.
He will take over from outgoing army-backed president Thein Sein on March 31. In the meantime, Suu Kyi will pick her cabinet and her government will start operating in earnest from early April.
Suu Kyi has yet to say. Some compare the situation to that of India`s Sonia Gandhi, who wielded huge influence over her Congress party`s administration despite having no official government role.
Another example is Singapore`s Lee Kwan Yew, who held an advisory position in the cabinet long after his official retirement.
Suu Kyi is expected to be president in all but name, possibly taking the foreign minister post, which would mean relinquishing her party position but on the other hand would give her a seat at the country`s military-dominated Security Council.
There are other pitfalls. The military may decide her proxy president goes against the constitution.
And a puppet leader may not be one hundred percent compliant — as Sonia Gandhi often discovered.
