The youngest daughter of Aung San, Father of the Nation of modern-day Myanmar, and Khin Kyi, Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon, British Burma. After graduating from the University of Delhi in 1964 and the University of Oxford in 1968, she worked at the United Nations for three years. She married Michael Aris in 1972, with whom she had two children.

Aung San Suu Kyi rose to prominence in the 8888 Uprising of 8 August 1988 and became the General Secretary of the NLD, which she had newly formed with the help of several retired army officials who criticized the military junta. In the 1990 elections, NLD won 81% of the seats in Parliament, but the results were nullified, as the military government (the State Peace and Development Council – SPDC) refused to hand over power, resulting in an international outcry. She had been detained before the elections and remained under house arrest for almost 15 of the 21 years from 1989 to 2010, becoming one of the world's most prominent political prisoners. In 1999, Time Magazine named her one of the "Children of Gandhi" and his spiritual heir to nonviolence.

Her party boycotted the 2010 elections, resulting in a decisive victory for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Aung San Suu Kyi became a Pyithu Hluttaw MP while her party won 43 of the 45 vacant seats in the 2012 by-elections. In the 2015 elections, her party won a landslide victory, taking 86% of the seats in the Assembly of the Union – well more than the 67% supermajority needed to ensure that its preferred candidates were elected President and Second Vice President in the Presidential Electoral College. Although she was prohibited from becoming the President due to a clause in the constitution – her late husband and children are foreign citizens – she assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor of Myanmar, a role akin to a Prime Minister or a head of government.

When she ascended to the office of State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi drew criticism from several countries, organisations and figures over Myanmar's inaction in response to the genocide of the Rohingya people in Rakhine State and refusal to accept that Myanmar's military has committed massacres. Under her leadership, Myanmar also drew criticism for prosecutions of journalists. In 2019, Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in the International Court of Justice where she defended the Burmese military against allegations of genocide against the Rohingya.

On 1 February 2021, Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested by the military during the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état after they declared the November 2020 Myanmar general election results fraudulent. (Wikipedia).

Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials were detained in military raids on Sunday, according to a party spokesperson.

Suu Kyi’s ruling party won a majority of the parliamentary seats — 396 out of 476 seats up for grabs — in November’s election, according to the Associated Press.

The military disputed the results, claiming election fraud — allegations the state Union Election Commission rejected.

The military announced on Monday that it was transferring power to Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and he would take control of the country for one year. 

UN, the United States and other European countries criticized the Burmese military party and asked to free Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected officials immediately.

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Aung San Suu Kyi Taken at Gunpoint in Early Morning in Military Coup in Myanmar

Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials were detained in military raids on Sunday, according to a party spokesperson.

A coup d'etat: Suu Kyi’s ruling party won a majority of the parliamentary seats — 396 out of 476 seats up for grabs — in November’s election, according to the Associated Press.

• The military disputed the results, claiming election fraud — allegations the state Union Election Commission rejected.

• The military announced on Monday that it was transferring power to Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and he would take control of the country for one year.

• In addition to politicians, human rights defenders, journalists and activists were also detained, according to the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

• Television signals, except for military-owned Myawaddy TV, were reportedly cut throughout Myanmar, as well as phone and internet connection in the capital Naypyitaw. Passenger flights were also grounded.

Grave concern: The coup was condemned by the UN and several countries, including the U.S., Australia and Singapore, Reuters reported.

• “We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on Nov. 8,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.