Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi is the Chair of Burma’s leading opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).  She is the daughter of the late General Aung San, who is considered the founding father of Burma’s independence movement.  Aung San Suu Kyi was raised in Burma and India and educated at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.  She entered politics upon her return to Burma in 1988 by co-founding the NLD and advocating for democracy in a country which had been under military dictatorship for most of its post-independence history.  Although the NLD won elections held in 1990, the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council refused to recognize the results and placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.  Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She spent most of the proceeding 21 years in detention.  In November of 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest and continued her struggle to bring democracy to Burma.  She re-entered active politics, led the NLD to re-register as a political party, and won a seat in the Kawmhu constituency during Burma’s April 1, 2012 Parliamentary by-elections. For her lifelong struggle for democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi has become an icon and serves as an inspiration to the people of Burma and the world.

Source: University Programs and Events Planning Resources, September 2012