Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (1945- ) is the pro-democracy opposition leader in Burma. She first became involved with the pro-democracy movement when she returned from Great Britain to take care of her ailing mother. Since July 1989, she was put under house arrest by the military for almost 14 years after founding the National League for Democracy, which won an overwhelming victory in the 1990 general elections. She is a recipient of several awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize with $1.3 million in prize money which she used to establish a health and education trust for the Burmese people.
Family and early life
Aung San Suu Kyi was born on June 19, 1945, in the former capital city of Rangoon, as third child of General Aung San and Ma Khin Kyi. She was named "Aung San" after her father, "Kyi" for her mother, and with "Suu" of her grandmother, which is also the day of week of birth.
Her father was an important figure in Burmese history who led the country's struggle for independence and founded the modern Burmese army. He initially sought help from Imperial Japan to organize military resistance against the British colonial rule. The Japanese occupied Rangoon in March 1942 and declared Burma's independence on August 1, 1943, upon which Aung San was appointed the war minister. But, as he was skeptical of the Japanese intentions regarding Burma and their chance of winning the war, Aung San established contact with the British authorities in India and staged a revolt on the side of the Allies on March 27, 1945. In September 1946, General Aung San was appointed the deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Burma by the British and in effect became Burma's first prime minister. He undertook negotiations with the British and signed an agreement promising Burma's independence within a year on January 27, 1947, but, with his assassination on July 19, 1947, Aung San did not live to see a fully independent Burma.
Ma Khin Kyi was also a politically active parent. Before serving as the head nurse at the Rangoon General Hospital, where she became acquainted with General Aung San, she used to be part of women's political groups. The couple had often hosted political gatherings in their home, even after their children were born. After General Aung San's death, Ma Khin Kyi, who would eventually be referred as Daw Khin Kyi - Daw is an honorific meaning "aunt," and it would also be given to Aung San Suu Kyi - became a welfare director and was later elected to the Parliament from 1947 to 1952. She was appointed as the president of the Women’s Association in 1958 and an Ambassador to India in 1960, where she would be joined by her daughter as a university student.