Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
(1945-)

Burmese Pro-Democracy Activist, Politician
1990 Rafto Human Rights Prize Winner
1990 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
1991 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

1992 International Simón Bolívar Prize
2000 Presidential Medal of Freedom
2007 Congressional Gold Medal / The Elders

birthdate: June 19    birthplace: Rangoon, Burma

Aung San Suu Kyi is a pro-democracy activist and prisoner of conscience in Myanmar (Burma) who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Aung San Suu Kyi's father helped to negotiate Burma's independence from Britain in 1947 before he was assassinated. The newly independent country was a democracy until a military coup in 1962, and has been under military rule since then. In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi helped to organize the National League for Democracy, which worked nonviolently for democracy in her country. When her party won a general election in 1990, she should have become Prime Minister, but was instead arrested. She has been either in prison or under house arrest on and off for the past 15 years, separated from her children, who live in Britain.

Aung San Suu Kyi's nonviolent struggle for freedom for her people has gained international attention. She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious human rights award, the Rafto Prize, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, and the Nobel Peace Prize. Her plight has become integrated into many aspects of mainstream culture -- the 2001 U2 song, Walk On was written about her, and she is featured in the 1995 movie, Beyond Rangoon. In 2006, the British Magazine New Statesmen compiled a list of 'Heroes of Our Time' and ranked Aung San Suu Kyi as number 1.

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