Aung San Suu Kyi << awng sahn soo chee >> (1945-…) served as the unofficial head of the government of Myanmar (also known as Burma) from 2016 until the military took over the government in early 2021. She had become known for leading the opposition to the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1988 to 2011. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent efforts to bring democracy to Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Yangon, Burma, on June 19, 1945. Her father, Aung San, was a leader of Burma’s independence movement. He was assassinated in 1947. Her mother, Khin Kyi, served as Burma’s ambassador to India. Aung San Suu Kyi studied in Burma, India, and the United Kingdom. She graduated from Oxford University and earned a Ph.D. degree in Oriental and African studies at the University of London.
Aung San Suu Kyi became involved in politics in 1988, after Burma’s military government killed thousands of pro-democracy protesters. That year, she cofounded the National League for Democracy (NLD) and became the group’s secretary general. In 1990, the NLD won 392 of 492 seats in parliamentary elections. However, the military refused to relinquish power and arrested many of the party’s leaders.
From 1989 to 1995, Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest. Upon her release, she continued her efforts to bring democracy to Myanmar. She was confined to her home again from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, after a violent clash between her supporters and pro-government demonstrators, the military took her into custody. She was again placed under house arrest. Her house arrest was due to end in May 2009. However, earlier that month, an American gained entry to the house where Aung San Suu Kyi was being held. She was charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest and was sentenced to an additional term of house arrest.
In 2010, the NLD disbanded. Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest later that year. In 2011, the NLD was allowed to re-register as an official political party. Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament in April 2012. In June, she traveled to Europe for the first time since 1988. During the trip, she collected her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
After Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament in 2012, she continued fighting for increased democracy in Myanmar. Under her leadership, the NLD won a controlling majority in parliamentary elections held in 2015 and in 2020. However, Aung San Suu Kyi was not eligible to serve as Myanmar’s president, because the country’s Constitution prohibits anyone whose children are citizens of another country from holding that office. Aung San Suu Kyi’s sons are British citizens. However, Aung San Suu Kyi claimed that she would lead the country unofficially. In 2016, Myanmar’s parliament elected one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s close allies to the presidency. The new government then appointed Aung San Suu Kyi to serve as state counselor, a role above that of the president and created specifically for her.
Aung San Suu Kyi was criticized for her response to the Rohingya crisis. Rohingya are a group of Muslim people who have lived in southwestern Myanmar for generations. The government considers them to be illegal immigrants. In 2017, more than half a million Rohingya fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh after violent clashes with Myanmar’s military. The international community called on Aung San Suu Kyi to condemn the atrocities reportedly committed by the military. The United Nations (UN) has described the military’s systematic violence against the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing and possible genocide. In 2019, Aung San Suu Kyi defended Myanmar against that charge before the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest court. In January 2020, the court called on Myanmar to protect the Rohingya while the hearings proceeded.
The NLD won a large majority of seats in the November 2020 parliamentary elections. However, Myanmar’s military objected to the election results. Military leaders staged a coup and took over the government on Feb. 1, 2021. The military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and a number of other government officials. In the following weeks, hundreds of thousands of citizens marched in protest against the military takeover. They also demanded that Aung San Suu Kyi be freed.
The military government charged Aung San Suu Kyi with multiple crimes, including corruption. Courts convicted her on two lesser charges in December 2021 and on several corruption charges in 2022. She was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison. In 2023, her sentence was reduced to 27 years. Her trials were widely condemned as illegitimate.
