Aung San Suu Kyi Biography Quotes 8 Report mistakes

Early life and family
Aung San Suu Kyi was born on 19 June 1945 in Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma (now Myanmar). She is the daughter of Aung San, the architect of Burma's independence movement, and Khin Kyi, a prominent public figure who later became a diplomat. Her father was assassinated in July 1947, when she was two years old, together with several cabinet colleagues, an event that indelibly shaped her family and the nation. Suu Kyi grew up with two brothers; one, Aung San Lin, died in childhood, and the other, Aung San Oo, later settled abroad. Her mother's public service and her father's legacy placed Suu Kyi in close proximity to national politics from an early age.

Education and early career abroad
In 1960 Khin Kyi was appointed Burma's ambassador to India and Nepal, and Suu Kyi accompanied her to New Delhi, studying at schools there before attending the University of Delhi. She continued her education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, earning a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1967. After Oxford she worked at the United Nations in New York in the early 1970s, gaining exposure to international institutions. In 1972 she married Michael Aris, a British scholar of Himalayan and Tibetan studies. The couple lived in the United Kingdom and Bhutan at different times and had two sons, Alexander and Kim. Suu Kyi also pursued research and writing, maintaining ties to Burma while raising her family abroad.

Return to Burma and rise of the National League for Democracy
Suu Kyi returned to Rangoon in 1988 to care for her ailing mother. Her arrival coincided with nationwide protests against one-party rule and economic decline after years of military-dominated governance dating back to General Ne Win's 1962 coup. In August 1988 she delivered a landmark speech at the Shwedagon Pagoda, calling for democratic reform and nonviolent change. Alongside veteran figures such as U Tin Oo, Aung Shwe, and Win Tin, she helped found the National League for Democracy (NLD) in September 1988. The military, reorganized as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), seized full control, but under domestic and international pressure it allowed a general election in 1990. The NLD won a landslide. The junta refused to hand over power, and Suu Kyi, already placed under house arrest in 1989, remained detained.

Detention and international recognition
Suu Kyi spent much of the period from 1989 to 2010 in detention, primarily under house arrest. During this time she became an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. In 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; her son Alexander accepted the award on her behalf in Oslo because she was not allowed to travel. She also received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and other honors. Her husband, Michael Aris, died in 1999 in the United Kingdom; the authorities denied him a visa to visit Burma when he was gravely ill, and Suu Kyi chose not to leave the country for fear she would be barred from returning. She was briefly released in 1995 but re-arrested in 2000. In May 2003, her convoy was attacked in Depayin; she and U Tin Oo were detained again, and she remained under tight restrictions until her release in November 2010.

Re-engagement with politics and parliamentary entry
After the military government organized elections in 2010 under a new constitution, the NLD initially boycotted the process, and a quasi-civilian administration led by former general Thein Sein took office in 2011. A period of limited political opening followed. Suu Kyi met President Thein Sein in 2011, a pivotal gesture that led to the NLD's participation in the April 2012 by-elections. The party won overwhelmingly, and Suu Kyi became a member of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) for Kawhmu Township. International engagement accelerated: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited in 2011, and President Barack Obama visited in 2012 and 2014, signaling shifting relations. Suu Kyi traveled abroad in 2012 for the first time in decades, delivering her long-delayed Nobel lecture and addressing parliaments and universities.

From opposition leader to state counsellor
In the 2015 general election the NLD won a decisive majority. The 2008 constitution, crafted under Senior General Than Shwe's influence, barred anyone with a foreign spouse or children from the presidency, effectively excluding Suu Kyi because of her marriage to Michael Aris and their sons' British citizenship. The NLD nominated Htin Kyaw, a trusted ally, as president in 2016, and created the role of State Counsellor for Suu Kyi, making her the de facto head of government. She also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 2018, after Htin Kyaw resigned, Win Myint, another NLD stalwart, became president. Suu Kyi's government pursued cautious economic reforms and initiated the 21st Century Panglong peace conferences in an attempt to engage ethnic armed organizations, though fighting persisted in several regions.

Rakhine State, the Rohingya crisis, and global response
Suu Kyi's international standing was profoundly affected by events in Rakhine State. Following attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in 2016 and 2017, the military's operations triggered mass displacement of Rohingya civilians to Bangladesh and widespread allegations of atrocities. A Rakhine Advisory Commission chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, established in 2016 at the government's request, proposed recommendations for addressing long-standing grievances. Implementation lagged amid escalating conflict. In 2019, The Gambia brought a case at the International Court of Justice alleging violations of the Genocide Convention. Suu Kyi personally led Myanmar's defense at The Hague in December 2019, arguing that the military's actions were a response to insurgency and that any violations should be addressed through domestic military justice. The ICJ ordered provisional measures in January 2020. Many governments and organizations criticized her stance, and several honors previously bestowed upon her were withdrawn, even as some domestic supporters viewed her as defending national sovereignty.

Second electoral victory and the 2021 coup
The NLD won another sweeping victory in the November 2020 general election. On 1 February 2021, hours before the new parliament was to convene, the military under Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power, detained Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and senior NLD figures, and declared a state of emergency. The coup triggered nationwide protests and civil disobedience. Suu Kyi was charged under a range of statutes, including violations of pandemic regulations, illegal import of communications equipment, incitement, corruption, and alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act. Trials were held behind closed doors in Naypyidaw. Sentences accumulated to several decades. In August 2023 authorities announced partial pardons reducing her total sentence by several years, but she remained in custody. Reports of transfers between prison and house arrest and concerns about her health surfaced periodically, while access by lawyers and family was tightly restricted. The NLD was later deregistered under new party laws promulgated by the military authorities.

Allies, interlocutors, and adversaries
Throughout her political journey, Suu Kyi worked closely with figures such as U Tin Oo and Win Tin in building the NLD. In government she relied on colleagues including Htin Kyaw and Win Myint, as well as cabinet members and advisors who navigated complex relations with the Tatmadaw (armed forces). She engaged with President Thein Sein during the opening of the 2010s, and later confronted a military leadership headed by Min Aung Hlaing. Internationally she interacted with visiting leaders and diplomats, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and UN envoys, and commissioned Kofi Annan to lead the Rakhine advisory effort. Her life and politics remained inseparable from the legacy of her parents, Aung San and Khin Kyi, whose reputations shaped public expectations of her role.

Personal life and writings
Suu Kyi's personal choices often mirrored her political commitments. She declined to leave Burma when her husband was dying, fearing permanent exile, a decision that became emblematic of her resolve and the costs of her activism. Her sons, Alexander and Kim, spent most of their lives abroad, occasionally visiting when permitted. Suu Kyi authored essays and reflections that circulated internationally, including collections such as Freedom from Fear and Letters from Burma, emphasizing nonviolence, rule of law, and the moral dimensions of political struggle.

Legacy and assessment
Aung San Suu Kyi's legacy is complex and contested. For many years she embodied a nonviolent struggle against authoritarian rule, winning overwhelming popular mandates in every competitive election in which the NLD participated. At the same time, her conduct in office and her response to the Rohingya crisis prompted deep criticism, especially outside Myanmar. Within the country, supporters credit her with channeling her father's nation-building vision and attempting to convert moral authority into institutional change under constitutional constraints; critics argue that she centralized power, tolerated limited civil liberties, and failed to protect vulnerable minorities. After the 2021 coup she again became the focal point of resistance for many, even while new political actors and movements emerged. Her life has been defined by the tension between principle and pragmatism, between international expectations and domestic pressures, and between the enduring pull of her family's legacy and the realities of Myanmar's protracted struggle over power and pluralism.

Our collection contains 8 quotes who is written by Aung, under the main topics: Leadership - Freedom - Equality - Peace - Change.

Other people realated to Aung: Luc Besson (Director)

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