A member of the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party, he is an ethnic Mon former lieutenant general in the Myanmar Army.

[11] Myint Swe's main role in the military government was to formally grant and renew Min Aung Hlaing's emergency powers.

On 1 February 2021, President Win Myint was removed from office in a coup and detained by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military), so Myint Swe would become Acting President, allowing him to call a meeting of the military-controlled National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) and declare a state of emergency and formally transfer power to coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

However, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, this interpretation is questionable as the military had no legal authority to detain Win Myint and the constitution provides for an impeachment and removal process which was not followed.

[17] Myint Swe extended the state of emergency five times[18][19] by six month periods at meetings of the NSDC, but did not otherwise participated in government.

[22][23] In a November 2023 meeting of the NSDC, Myint Swe warned that the country was at risk of being "split into various parts" amid the civil war.

[24] On 18 July 2024, state media in Myanmar reported that Myint Swe was suffering from neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, adding that he had been receiving medical treatment since early in 2024 and was unable to eat or carry out other basic functions.