General San Yu (Burmese: စန်းယု, pronounced: [sáɴ jṵ]; 3 March 1918 – 30 January 1996) was the Commander in Chief of the Tatmadaw and President of Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma from 9 November 1981 to 27 July 1988. San Yu studied medicine in Rangoon when World War II broke out and joined the army to serve as a junior officer while Burma was under Japanese occupation.