Hla Swe was born in military base in Chauk, Magway Region to parents Boe Thar and his wife Than Kyi.

[5] Hla Swe joined the Myanmar Army in 1978 and most of his 25 years of service was spent fighting armed ethnic groups in border areas.

In 2003, he took up an administrative role for the State Peace and Development Council military government in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region.

[citation needed] In 2023, he founded a group of Pyusawhti militias in his hardcore supporter village, Myaung Khinyan, located in Gangaw.

[10] On TikTok, he often posted videos to personally attack jailed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

[citation needed] On August 7, 2019, Kyauktada township deputy administrator Myo Myint filed a complaint against Hla Swe with the township court for allegedly condemning state leaders while speaking at a rally against the US imposition of visa sanctions on Myanmar military leaders in front of Yangon City Hall on August 3.

He blamed his defeat on 2015 election not on the success of his NLD rival, but on Aung San, Father of the Nation of modern-day Myanmar.