Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
She was born on 19 June 1945 in Rangoon, British Burma (present-day Yangon, Myanmar), daughter of Burma’s independence hero, Aung San, who was assassinated when she was only two years old.
Her name doesn't carry a surname like other Burmese names. Aung San Suu Kyi is a personal name and is derived from the names of three people-- Aung San from her father, Suu from her paternal grandmother and Kyi from her mother. She is also referred to as Daw Suu (Aunt Suu) or Amay Suu (Mother Suu) by the Burmese.
Aung San Suu Kyi was educated in Burma, India, and the United Kingdom. While studying at Oxford University, she met a Tibet scholar Michael Aris, who she married in 1972. They had two sons, Alexander and Kim.
She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. She has served as the chairperson of the National League for Democracy(NLD) since 2011, having been the general secretary from 1988 to 2011. She played a vital role in Myanmar's transition from military junta to partial democracy in the 2010s.
The country has been struggling between Democracy and Military rule. To understand Myanmar’s latest coup, you need to first understand two intertwined storylines: the country’s decades-long struggle between democracy and military rule, and, more recently, the NLD’s rise under Suu Kyi.
In July 1989 the military government placed Suu Kyi under house arrest in Yangon (Rangoon) and held her incommunicado. The condition put forward by the military for her freedom was to leave Myanmar which Suu Kyi refused. The NLD or National League for Democracy, which Suu Kyi had cofounded in 1988, won more than 80 percent of the parliamentary seats that were contested in 1990, The results of the election though were ignored by the military government.
Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest in July 1995, with restrictions to travel outside Yangon. The JUNTA once again, in September 2020 placed Suu Kyi under house arrest for almost 18 months, on allegations of having violated restrictions by attempting to travel outside Yangon.
The International community extended all support to Suu Kyi and in 2009 a United Nations body declared her detention illegal under Myanmar’s own law.
A few prestigious Awards received by Suu Kyi:
- Sakharov Prize 1990 - awarded, in absentia - The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honourary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, the prize was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament.
- Rafto Human Rights Prize 1990, awarded, in absentia
- Nobel Peace Prize October 14, 1991
- International Simón Bolívar Prize - 1992Created in 1978, the purpose of the prize is to reward an activity of outstanding merit which, in accordance with the ideals of Simón Bolívar (1783-1830). The purpose of the prize is to reward an activity of outstanding merit which has contributed to the freedom, independence and dignity of peoples and to the strengthening of a new international economic, social and cultural order. Such activity may take the form of intellectual or artistic creation, a social achievement or the mobilization of public opinion.
- Jawahar Lal Nehru Award 1993 - Established in 1965 and is administered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to people "for their outstanding contribution to the promotion of international understanding, goodwill and friendship among people of the world". The money constituent of this award is 2.5 million rupees. The Award is made by a seven members Jury appointed by the Government of India for this purpose. The Jury is headed by the Vice President of India. The Chief Justice of India is an ex-officio member of the Jury. The other members of the Jury include (1) one Chief Justice of a State High Court; (2) one Vice Chancellor of a University (3) one person representing the Press (4) two eminent persons from public life.
- Olof Palme Prize February 28th 2006 - The Olof Palme Memorial Fund for International Understanding and Common Security was established by Olof Palme’s family and by the Social Democratic Party to honour his memory.
- Congressional Gold Medal - 6th May 2008 - The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions
In 2017 Tatmadaw's military government 2017 carried out mass killing of the country’s Rohingya minority with an intent to make the community flee to neighbouring countries mostly Bangladesh. Suu Kyi refused to condemn Tatmadaw's government's genocide which was seen by the International Community as Suu Kyi's support to the act.
While Suu Kyi still has her Nobel, quite a few of the other international awards and recognitions she had received for her pro-democracy work were rescinded including Amnesty International stripping Suu Kyi of its most important award, accusing her of perpetuating human-rights abuses.
Continuing with its crackdown on free press since it assumed power in a coup on February 1, the military court of Myanmar has sentenced two reporters under a draconian law that was recently revised to make it difficult for journalists to publish reports on anti-junta protests.