- Born
- Aung San Suu Kyi was born on June 19, 1945 in Rangoon, Burma. She is known for Beyond Rangoon (1995), Burma: A Human Tragedy (2011) and They Call It Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain (2012). She was previously married to Michael Aris.
- SpouseMichael Aris(1972 - March 27, 1999) (his death, 2 children)
- Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts as a Burmese human rights activist, writer, and co-founder of the National League for Democracy, the country's most powerful opposition party. For her "treasonous" political activities, which consisted of journeying (sometimes by bullock cart or boat) the length and breadth of Burma to speak out against the dictatorship, she was placed under house arrest in July 1989. When the Nobel Prizes of 1991 were announced, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said: "She became the leader of a democratic opposition which employs nonviolent means to resist a regime characterized by brutality. Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades.".
- Opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was again put under protective custody after clashes between her National League for Democracy and government forces in May 2003. Her detention has caused international concern. The United Nations, Australia, France, Japan, Sweden, Thailand and the United Kingdom have called for her release.
- She was awarded the AC (Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia) on May 24, 1996 for her services of her outstanding leadership and great personal courage in the struggle to bring democracy to Burma.
- She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton on December 6, 2000, America's highest civilian honor, at a White House ceremony for her peace and freedom activism in her homeland Myanmar.
- She was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress on May 6, 2008 for her services of her outstanding leadership and great personal courage in the struggle to bring democracy to Burma.
- [on her father, Aung San, former Burmese nationalist leader who is known as the father of modern Burma:] "It was only when I grew older and started collecting material on his life and achievements that I began to learn what he had really been like and how much he had managed to achieve in his thirty-two years. Not only did I then conceive an admiration for him as a patriot and statesman but I developed a strong sense of empathy as I discovered many similarities in our attitudes. It is perhaps because of this strong bond that I came to feel such a deep sense of responsibility for the welfare of my country."
- On personal power: If you give in to intimidation, you'll go on being intimidated.
- On success: At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow the path, if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above the individual limitations and environmental impediments.
- We should not depend on U.S. sanctions to keep up the momentum for democracy.
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