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Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo by Htoo Tay Zar-

10 Outstanding Facts about Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi was conceived on 19^th June 1945 in Rangoon Burma. She is a Burmese politician, opposition leader, author, and daughter of National Hero General Aung San.

She is a graduate of Oxford University and a fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Simla India. She is the founder of the National League of Democracy which won the 1990 Burma elections before being nullified.

Aung San Suu Kyi won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. Her political activism has seen her being detained severally making her an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression.

Aung San Kyi has received several international awards for her active participation in the fight for human rights. She has held various government posts and is currently the de facto leader of Burma. Here are some of the outstanding facts about Aung San Kyi.

1. She is the daughter of General Aung San

general Aung San. photo by Unknown Author on

Her political career was head started by her father who is considered the Father of the Nation for bringing the nation to independence.

Her father was assassinated when she was two years old and she grew up with her mother Ma Khi Kyi who was the Burmese ambassador to India.

2. Aung San Kyi helped form National League For Democracy

NLD office. photo by Phyo WP-

During the 1988 Burma uprising, she addressed half a million protestors at a mass rally in Shwedagon Pagoda in the capital. She later on, formed the National League For Democracy which has risen to be one of the most influential parties in Myanmar.

The party won the 1990 elections which were not recognized by the ruling party. The party later won the 2012 elections with the party leader, Aung San Kyi winning the Khahmu seat.

The party supports human rights, the rule of, law, and national reconciliation and advocates for non-violent movements toward multi-party democracy in Myanmar.

3. She received the Nobel Peace Prize 

Following the 1990 elections which her party, she was placed under home arrest by the military. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.

The award was a recognition for her persistent efforts to attain democracy. The award was issued when she was under house arrest and it was received by her sons Kim and Alexander on her behalf. She is the second woman after Mother Teresa to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in Asia.

4. She survived an assassination

In November 1996, Aung San Suu Kyi’s motorcade was attacked by 200 paid men in Yangoon. The car that Aung San Suu Kyi was in had its windows smashed and shattered with stones, metal batons, and other weapons.

The offenders are believed to be members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association. They were paid USD 0.50 to participate.

On 30th May 2003, a government-sponsored mob attacked her caravan killing and wounding many of her supporters.

5. Aung San Suu Kyi was not allowed to visit her sick husband in London

A patient in bed. Photo by Pittigrilli-

She married British historian Michael Aris in 1972 and they had two boys Alexander and Kim. Her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997.

This was later found to be terminal. Being under house arrest since 1989, she was only allowed to see him a few times.

The Burmese government declined to grant Aris a visa to allow him to visit his wife. He succumbed to cancer in 1999 having only seen Aung San five times in the last ten years.

6. She has had two films produced about her

In 1995, Beyond Rangoon, a drama film directed by John Boorman was produced. The film is a deficit of Aung San Kyi’s struggle and her frequent house arrests. The film starred actress Patricia Arquette helped bring world attention towards Burmese activities.

In 2011, The Lady, a British biological film was directed by Luc Besson. The film starred actress, Michelle Yeoh, as Aung San Kyi and actor David Thewlis as Michael Aris. The film told the life history of Aung San Kyi life history from a housewife to an activist.

7. She has met with world leaders

Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi, Image by Pete Souza-

Aung San Suu Kyi has received vocal support from countries all over the globe. She met with US president Barack Obama in her lakeside villa where she was praised for her courage and determination.

She received a personal letter from UK Prime minister, Gordon Brown. He cautioned the Burmese government of the possible consequences if the elections were rigged.

The United Nations General Assembly condemned the human rights situation in Burma. Ban Ki-Moon, the then United Nations General Secretary called for Aung San Kyi’s release.

8. She has been under house arrest for 17 years

Aung San Kyi was sentenced to charges of trying to divide the army in 1989. She was sentenced but was granted permission to leave Burma under the condition she would never return.

The government detained and kept her imprisoned for five years without trial. It saw her as likely to undermine the peace and stability of the country.

Following the Depiyian massacre of 2003, she was sentenced to three years of detention and later one-year house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s trials and arrests express the deteriorating state of human rights in Myanmar.

9. Aung San Suu Kyi was the first state counselor of Burma

Counselor Aung San Kyi. Image by Kantabon-

In March 2016, she was appointed minister for education, foreign affairs, president’s office, and energy.

She invited foreign ministers from Japan, China, Canada, and Italy and they discussed how to have good relations with Burma. She granted amnesty to arrested students who opposed the National Education Bill.

Her government didn’t manage the ethnic conflicts in Kachin and Shan states where thousands fled to China. Her failure to address the plight of Rohingya and other economic and ethnic problems of the country have drawn international criticism.

10. Aung San Kyi is still under house arrest

A military court in Myanmar has sentenced Aung San Kyi to four charges of corruption. Her legal proceedings take place in prison venues rather than in a courtroom a decision by the government authorities.

She is held in solitary confinement and is sentenced to seventeen years imprisonment following her corruption charges.