Aung San Suu Kyi, sometimes abbreviated to Suu Kyi, is a Burmese politician who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. She has served as the general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since the party's founding in 1988 and was registered as its chairperson while it was a legal party from 2011 to 2023. She played a vital role in Myanmar's transition from military junta to partial democracy in the 2010s.
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also rendered as Burma, is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon.
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusive. There may be substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or the parent may simply be unwilling to care for the child. The legal responsibility for the support of abandoned children differs from country to country, and within countries. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries during the latter half of the 20th century but continue to operate in many other regions internationally. It is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children, and government support goes instead towards supporting the family unit.
The National League for Democracy is a deregistered liberal democratic political party in Myanmar. It became the country's ruling party after a landslide victory in the 2015 general election but was overthrown in a coup d'état in February 2021 following another landslide election victory in 2020.
The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma was an administration which claimed to be the government in exile of Burma (Myanmar). It had its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, United States. It was formally established in December 1990, with Sein Win as its first prime minister. It was dissolved in September 2012.
Cynthia Maung is a Karen medical doctor and founder of Mae Tao Clinic that has been providing free healthcare services for internally displaced persons (IDP) and migrant workers on the Thai-Burmese border for three decades.
Children on the Edge is a non-profit charitable organisation dedicated to working on behalf of some of the most marginalised children around the world. The organisation is based in Chichester and was founded by the owner of The Body Shop, Dame Anita Roddick, (DBE) in 1990 following her visit to several Romanian orphanages. It was co-founded by Rachel Bentley, who has led the organisation to this day.
The Bogyoke Aung San Museum, located in Bahan, Yangon, is a museum dedicated to General Aung San, the founder of modern Myanmar (Burma). Established in 1962, the two-story museum was Aung San's last residence before his assassination in July 1947. It is a colonial-era villa, built in 1921, where his daughter Aung San Suu Kyi grew up as a child. The museum, with its focus on Gen. Aung San's short adult life, is complementary to the Bogyoke Aung San Residence Museum in Natmauk, Magwe Division, which is dedicated to his childhood and family memorabilia. It houses exhibits on his life story and general memorabilia which includes clothing, books, furniture, family photos and the late general's car.
Jack Healey is an American human rights activist, author and the former director of Amnesty International USA. He is best known as the organizer of Amnesty's benefit concerts in the 1980s featuring bands like U2, the Police, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Sinead O’Connor, Bob Dylan, Santana, Tracy Chapman and others.
The Father Ray Foundation, founded in 1974 by Father Ray Brennan C.Ss.R., is dedicated to caring for underprivileged, orphaned, and disabled children in Pattaya, Thailand. It provides education, vocational training, and healthcare through initiatives like the Redemptorist Technological College for People with Disabilities and the Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind. The foundation also operates the Father Ray Children's Village for orphans, a Day Care Center for toddlers, and a School for Children with Special Needs. Supported by international organizations and volunteers, it emphasizes self-sufficiency with agricultural projects and annual fundraising efforts like the SOS RICE Appeal. Father Ray died in 2003. The Foundation was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 4, 2009, American John Yettaw trespassed upon the residence of Myanmar political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, two weeks before her scheduled release from house arrest on May 27. This illegal visit prompted Suu Kyi's arrest on May 13, 2009. Yettaw himself was arrested by Myanmar authorities on May 6. He was charged on May 14 with illegally entering a restricted zone, illegal swimming, and breaking immigration laws. It is illegal in Myanmar to have a guest stay overnight at one's home without notifying the authorities first.
Alexander Myint San Aung Aris is the elder son of Aung San Suu Kyi and Michael Aris. He is also a grandson of Aung San, who is credited with achieving the independence of Myanmar. He has been representing his mother, who has been detained by the military junta for years; he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for her, and on many other awards and occasions, he has represented her.
Zoya Phan is a Burmese political activist. She resides in the United Kingdom, and is the Campaign Manager of the human rights organization Burma Campaign UK. She was an outspoken critic of the Burmese government when it was under direct military rule, repeatedly calling for democratic reform in Burma, as well as economic sanctions from both the British government and the United Nations. Following political changes in the country from 2011, she has continued to campaign for international action to end ongoing human rights violations, especially regarding the use of rape and sexual violence against ethnic women by the Burmese Army.
The Lady is a 2011 British biographical film directed by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her late husband Michael Aris. Yeoh called the film "a labour of love" but also confessed it had felt intimidating for her to play the Nobel laureate.
Maha Thiri Thudhamma Khin Kyi was a Burmese politician and diplomat, best known for her marriage to the country's leader, Aung San, with whom she had four children, including Aung San Suu Kyi. She served as the Minister of Social Welfare and MP of the Pyithu Hluttaw for Lanmadaw Township.
Htin Kyaw is a Burmese politician, writer and scholar who served as the ninth president of Myanmar from 30 March 2016 to 21 March 2018. He was the first elected president to hold the office with no ties to the military since the 1962 coup d'état. The second son of scholar Min Thu Wun, Htin Kyaw had held various positions in the education, planning and treasury ministries in prior governments.
The state counsellor of Myanmar was the de facto head of government of Myanmar, equivalent to a prime minister, from 2016 to 2021. The office was created in 2016 after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the 2015 Myanmar general election so she could lead the government despite being constitutionally ineligible for the presidency. The officeholder could “contact ministries, departments, organizations, associations and individuals” in an official capacity, while being accountable to parliament. The office was abolished by Aung San Suu Kyi's political adversary, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing, after he seized power from her in a 2021 military coup d'état.
The following lists events in the year 2017 in Myanmar.
General elections were held in Myanmar on 8 November 2020. Voting occurred in all constituencies, excluding seats appointed by or reserved for the military, to elect members to both the upper house — the Amyotha Hluttaw and the lower house — the Pyithu Hluttaw of the Assembly of the Union, as well as State and Regional Hluttaws (legislatures). Ethnic Affairs Ministers were also elected by their designated electorates on the same day, although only select ethnic minorities in particular states and regions were entitled to vote for them. A total of 1,171 national, state, and regional seats were contested in the election, with polling having taken place in all townships, including areas considered conflict zones and self-administered regions.
Myanmar–South Korea relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Republic of Korea. The two countries established their diplomatic relations on 16 May 1975.
