Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi

Born June 19, 1945
Yangon (formerly Rangoon),
Myanmar (formerly Burma)

Prodemocracy activist

Although Aung San Suu Kyi spent most of her life outside of her native Burma, she always believed that she would some day be called back to serve her people. Being the daughter of the famous general Aung San, who was widely regarded as the father of Burma, Suu Kyi believed she was born with a responsibility to honor her father’s legacy.

Suu Kyi’s activism on behalf of the Burmese people began in 1988, when she returned to Burma to care for her sick mother. Unable to ignore the massive street demonstrations against government repression and corruption, and the brutal killings of protesters by soldiers, Suu Kyi lent her voice to the resistance. She immediately became the accepted leader of the Burmese opposition movement. Because of her courageous stand against the military government, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for six years. During that time she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Suu Kyi remains an international symbol of hope for a democratic Burma (which in 1989 was renamed Myanmar).

Daughter of the “father of modern Burma”

Aung San Suu Kyi [pronounced Aung Sahn Sue Chee] was born on June 19, 1945, in Rangoon (since renamed Yangon), the capital city of Burma.

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