Aung San Suu Kyi

Lore & Background

Aung San Suu Kyi is the youngest daughter of Aung San, Father of the Nation of modern-day Myanmar, and Khin Kyi. She was born in Rangoon, British Burma, and educated at the University of Delhi and St Hugh's College, Oxford. She worked at the United Nations for three years before marrying Michael Aris in 1972, with whom she had two children. She rose to prominence in the 8888 Uprising of 8 August 1988 and became General Secretary of the newly formed NLD. In the 1990 general election, the NLD won 81% of seats, but the military government nullified the results. She was detained before the elections and remained under house arrest for almost 15 of the 21 years from 1989 to 2010, becoming one of the world's most prominent political prisoners. She survived an assassination attempt in the 2003 Depayin massacre.

Reader's Guide

Aung San Suu Kyi's significance lies in her role as a symbol of nonviolent resistance and her leadership in Myanmar's partial democratic transition. After her party's landslide victory in the 2015 general election, she assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, acting as de facto leader from 2016 to 2021. However, her legacy is deeply contested due to her defense of the Myanmar military against allegations of genocide against the Rohingya people at the International Court of Justice in 2019, and her government's inaction regarding the Rohingya genocide. Under her leadership, Myanmar also faced criticism for prosecuting journalists. She was arrested in a 2021 coup and sentenced to 33 years in prison, later reduced to 27, in trials widely condemned as politically motivated by the United Nations, most European countries, and the United States. Her final sentence and imprisonment mark a dramatic fall from international acclaim.

Did You Know?

• Aung San Suu Kyi's name derives from three relatives: 'Aung San' from her father, 'Suu' from her paternal grandmother, and 'Kyi' from her mother.
• She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
• She survived an assassination attempt in the 2003 Depayin massacre, in which at least 70 NLD members were killed.
• She was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison, later reduced to 27 years, after the 2021 coup.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"The root of a nation's misfortunes has to be sought in the moral failings of the government." — Aung San Suu Kyi "The good ruler sublimates his needs as an individual to the service of the nation." — Aung San Suu Kyi "While a private individual may be bound only by the formal vows that he makes, those who govern should be wholly bound by the truth in thought, word and deed." — Aung San Suu Kyi "Each man has in him the potential to realize the truth through his own will and endeavour and to help others to realize it. Human life therefore is infinitely precious." — Aung San Suu Kyi