On June 19, 1945 -- Nobel Peace Prize Laureate born in Rangoon, Burma -- this month released from House Arrest for decades

Collected material about Aung San Suu Kyi at  www. I M D B dot-com/

Earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts as a Burmese human rights activist, writer, and cofounder 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 Nobels 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 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 an honorary A.C. (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.

Personal Quotes

[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.