Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

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Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's biography

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon, Burma, on June 19, 1945. She is the daughter of Daw Khin Kyi, Burma's only woman ambassador (to India and Nepal), and late national leader General Aung San, the architect of Burma's independence, who was assassinated in Rangoon on July 19, 1947, along with six members of his pre-independence cabinet.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was educated in Rangoon until the age of 15 and continued her studies at Delhi University when she accompanied her Ambassador mother to New Delhi. She completed her BA in philosophy, politics, and economics at St. Hugh's College, Oxford University, and was elected Honorary Fellow in 1990.

From 1969 to 1971, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was the Assistant Secretary, Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, United Nations Secretariat, New York.

In 1972, Daw Aung Suu Kyi worked as the Research Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bhutan, and got married to a British scholar Dr. Michael Aris. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has two sons, Alexander, born in London (1973),
and Kim in Oxford in 1977.

She studied at the Center of Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, as a visiting scholar (1985-86).

In 1987, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi completed her fellowship at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla.

In 1988, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma to attend to her ailing mother. When nationwide mass demonstrations for democracy started in August, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi took a leading role in the movement, addressing half a million people at the famous Shwedagon rally on 23 August.

24 September 1988: The National League for Democracy (NLD) was founded with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as general secretary following an announcement by the military, which took control of the country in a 18 September coup, that "fair and free" elections would be held on May 27 1990. In asserting control, the military gunned down hundreds of demonstrators and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council.

Following the coup and until July 1989, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as NLD leader delivered over a hundred public addresses, encouraging people to fight for their rights despite their fears, and extensively toured the whole country, including Rangoon, Pegu, Magwe, Sagaing, Mandalay, Moulmein, Tavoy, Mergui, Pakkoku, Taunggyi, Kyaukpadaung, Monywa, Myinmu, Myitkyina, and so forth.

July 1989: The military placed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Amnesty International declared Daw Aung San Suu Kyi a prisoner of conscience. (Under pressure from the junta and as a move to prevent the junta from using legal loopholes to ban the party, the NLD announced Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was no longer the general secretary of the party)

May 1990: Despite her continuing detention, and the arrest of other NLD leaders, the party won the election by a landslide, securing 82 percent of the seats, but the military junta refused to honor the election results.

October 12 1990: Thorolf Rafto Foundation of Norway honored Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with the first international award--Thorolf Rafto Award for Human Rights.

July 10, 1991: The 1990 Sakharov Prize (Human Rights Award of the European Parliament) was awarded to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

August 10, 1991: The military regime retroactively amended the law under which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was held to extend her house arrest for up to five years without charge or trial.

October 14, 1991: The Nobel Peace Committee awarded Daw Aung San Suu Kyi the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

December 10, 1991: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's "Freedom From Fear" and other works were published in London.

1992: The Nobel Committee revealed that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would use the $1.3 million prize money to establish a health and education trust in support of the Burmese people.

January 21, 1994: The military junta announced that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi could be detained for up to six years under martial law. The regime said an extra year could be added if a three-member committee comprising the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, and Defense decided to do so.

February 14, 1994: For the first time, people from outside Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's family were allowed to meet her. UN Resident Representative Jehan Raheem, US Congressman Bill Richardson and New York Times reporter Philip Shenon visited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

September 20, 1994: Junta chairman Than Shwe and Lt Gen Khin Nyunt met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time since her house arrest.

October 28, 1994: A second meeting was held at the State Guest House between Lt Gen Khin Nyunt and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

July 10, 1995: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest.

July 11, 1994: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told reporters she was still dedicated to the restoration of democracy in Burma. She called for a dialogue between SLORC, democracy movement, and non-Burman ethnic nationality groups. She also urged foreign businessmen thinking of investing in Burma to wait until democracy was restored.

October 10, 1995: The NLD defied junta's ban on changes in party leadership positions and reappointed her as the party's General Secretary.

November 28, 1995: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, saying that the NLD did not believe that the National Convention being held by the junta would lead the country to democracy, announced that the party was withdrawing from the National Convention.

March 27, 1999: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's husband Michael Aris died of prostrate cancer in London. His last request to visit Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he had last seen in 1995, was rejected by the military junta which said if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi wanted to leave the country she could do so. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi refused the offer or to leave her Rangoon home.

1996--2000: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi defied travel bans imposed against her and continually tried to leave for places outside Rangoon. In March 1996, she boarded the train bound for Mandalay but citing a "last minute problem" the coach she was in was left behind at the station. In July 1998 and August 1998, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi tried to meet NLD members outside Rangoon but police stopped her car on the road to Bassein. On both occasions, she was
forced to spend days on the road. After several days they usually seize her car, force her to return home, and drive her car back.

In August 2000, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was once again prevented from visiting NLD youth members in Dala. On 2 September, around 200 riot police surrounded Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade near Dala and forced them to return to Rangoon after a nine-day standoff. On 21 September, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo were arrested together with their supporters when they tried to leave for Mandalay by train.

October 2000: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi began secret talks with the military junta. Substance of the talks remains secret, and UN Special Envoy Razali is acting as a "facilitator."