"President Thein Sein reshuffled his cabinet on 27 August 2012, for the first time since the installation of his government on 30 March 2011. Speculation about an imminent cabinet reshuffle had been heard for some months; the fact that it took so long to accomplish might indicate some lingering vulnerability in Thein Sein?s position, although on the surface the outcome has strengthened his personal authority, reinforced the government?s reformist impulses, and sidelined the last conservative elements among his ministers. Thein Sein has brought key ministers overseeing his reform initiatives into his own office, as ministers without portfolio: notably Investment Commission Chair, Soe Thein, who has become the leading advocate of micro-economic policy reform; former Railways Minister, Aung Min, who has assumed responsibility for negotiating peace agreements with several ethnic groups (including the Karen National Union); and the ministers formerly in charge of Finance and National Development..."