Kinwon Mingyi was born Maung Chin (မောင်ချင်း) on 3 February 1822 (Sunday, 12th waxing of Tabodwe 1183 ME) in Madaingbin village (in the Lower Chindwin district).

He was also schooled at a college led by U Yanwe, who eventually became the chief minister of King Mindon with the title Pakan Mingyi.

"good", considered more favorable than his birth name Chin) and appointed him the Clerk of the Royal Treasury (ရွှေတိုက်စာရေး) and received Ywathitgyi village as his appanage.

In 1871, he was appointed minister of third rank (ဝန်ထောက်) at the Hluttaw, the national governing body and was responsible for the country's police and customs stations, where he earned his moniker Kinwun (lit.

There, he was received by Queen Victoria and invested Prince of Wales (later to be King Edward VII) and William Ewart Gladstone gold salwe of 21 and 18 strings respectively.

When he implored King Thibaw at the royal court to avoid conflict with the British, Supayalat angrily says,[3] "This old man is always timid.

In 1887, he was awarded the Companionship of the Order of the Star of India (CSI)[5] and in 1897, he became one of the first two indigenous Burmese to be appointed to the Legislative Council of Burma.

His second was to Shwe Me, the daughter of the myothugyi (hereditary chief) of Ahlone, a town in Monywa Township.