edited bio

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s life has been intricately tied to that of her homeland.
Born June 19th, 1945 in Rangoon, Burma, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to a politically influential family in Burma’s transition to independent rule. Her father was a nationalist leader who was deeply involved in the independence movement, but was assassinated before the formal transition from British colonialism to independent rule in 1947. She received an English education at Catholic schools in Burma. In 1960, her mother, Khin Kyi, became politically active and was appointed Burma’s ambassador to India. Aung San followed her mother to India where she further educated at the Lady Shri Ram College, part of the University of Delhi. Aung San graduated from Lady Shri Ram in 1964, after which she continued her studies at Oxford University, earning a B.A. in politics, philosophy and economics and graduating in 1967. After graduation she went to New York City to continue her studies and work at the United Nations. Aung San’s intellect and interest in human rights demonstrates her lifelong interest and commitment to her country and the larger global community
In 1972 she married fellow intellectual, Englishman and scholar of Tibetan studies, Michael Aris; a year later they welcomed the birth of their first child Alexander, in London. Five years later Aung San give birth to her second son, Kim. The family resided in England where Michael was a professor of Tibetan and Himalayan studies at Oxford.
In 1988 she returned to Burma to care for her ailing mother. Aung San’s return to Burma is in the midst of a political upheaval, and it is the timing of her return, which compelled her to become involved in Burmese politics. The socialist leader had stepped down and calls for democratization spread through the country. A military junta filled the power vacuum to the horror of democracy advocates. One of Aung San’s greatest inspirations, Gandhi, encouraged her non-violent approach in the struggle for democracy through his teachings of compassion and political involvement; along with others, she founded the National League for Democracy, a pro-democracy and human rights political party. In the following year of 1989, Aung San was placed under house arrest for the first time, obviously due to the government’s perceiving her as a threat in the midst of internal outcry for reform. The military government offered her freedom as an exile without the possibility of returning to her homeland, an offer that forced her to choose between being close to her loved ones and her country. In 1990 the military junta gave in to external pressure to hold elections and the National League for Democracy won decisively, meaning that Aung San would become Prime Minister. The military refused to respect the outcome of the elections despite international outcry and Aung San was again placed under house arrest. In 1991 she won the Nobel Peace Prize, which her son accepted on her behalf, and used the $1.3 million dollar prize to establish a trust for the health and education of the Burmese. In 1995 she was released from house arrest and allowed to leave her property, but knowing that she could not leave Burma or she will not be able to return. Michael Aris was diagnosed with prostate cancer and the government refused to give him an entry visa, separating wife and husband during Michael’s illness and death in 1999 (on his 53rd birthday). Aung San and Michael had not seen each other for the last few years of his life, and it is Aung San’s commitment to improving the lives of her Burmese compatriots for which she has had to sacrifice so much.
Although no longer under house arrest, Aung San was constantly prevented from meeting with her party supporters, and she was again placed under house arrest in 2000. Her dedication to the democratization movement had not waned in the course of the decade. Aung San was then released from house arrest in 2002 due to UN negotiations with the government of Myanmar, but in 2003 her caravan was attacked by an armed government-sponsored gang. She fled the scene to safety, but was apprehended and then imprisoned. After undergoing a hysterectomy later that year she was again placed under house arrest, which was meant to end in 2006, but the government has extended her release indefinitely. Now, still poised and beautiful as ever, Aung San lives the lonely life of a prisoner in her own house, maintaining her political and humanitarian aspirations although it has come at the cost of great personal tragedy.