The RJP was founded by former military officer and scholar U Zaw Nyo in 1920. In 1923 it led the 1923 Rajian coup d'état with Zaw Nyo ruling the country as it's de facto dictator until 1945 when he was ousted at the offset of the Rajian Civil War. Until 1978 the RJP alongside the People's Democratic Party was part of a two-party system with its support being rooted in ethnic Rajians, and as such advocated for ethno-nationalist policies in an autocratic framework. The party after 1947 became dominated by the Nyan Dynasty, a political family that retains several business interests (mainly in the oil sector). However since the end of the Cold War the RJP went through a period of modernisation especially under leader Nyan Kya, who emphasised civic nationalism over the RJP's previous ethnic var