Khun Sa

Full Name: Khun Sa, born Zhang Qifu
Profession: Drug Lord and Warlord

Nationality:

Biography: Khun Sa dominated the opium trade in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia from the 1970s to the 1990s. He was known as the "Opium King" and he was described as "the worst enemy the world has" by an American ambassador to Thailand.

Born in 1934 in Burma to a Chinese father and Shan mother, Khun Sa was orphaned at a young age and raised by his grandfather. He later received military training from both the Chinese Kuomintang forces and the Burmese Army.

Khun Sa went on to formed his first militia as a teenager and later re-organized it under the Burmese government's control, all the while secretly building his drug empire. By the late 1960s, he had become one of the most powerful warlords in Shan State.

In 1969, Khun Sa was arrested for treason due to his ties with Shan rebels, but was released in 1974 after his followers kidnapped and ransomed Soviet doctors for his freedom. He then consolidated his power, ultimately controlling up to 70% of Burma's opium production and commanding a 20,000-strong army at the height of his reign.

Despite his worldwide notoriety, Khun Sa managed to maintain complex relationships with the Thai and Burmese governments. As his power declined in the 1990s and faced with increasing pressure, however, he eventually surrendered to the Burmese authorities in 1996.

In his later years, Khun Sa retired to Yangon, where he invested in legitimate businesses until his death in 2007 at the age of 73.

Born: February 17, 1934
Birthplace: Loi Maw, Mongya, British Burma

Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Dog
Star Sign: Aquarius

Died: October 26, 2007 (aged 73)