Aung San Suu Kyi

Nearly a decade after it was conferred, a prestigious United Nations award for promoting peace and tolerance has finally been presented to its winner, Myanmar’s democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Ms. Suu Kyi was chosen for the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence in 2002, but it is only now that the Myanmar government has allowed her to accept the award carrying a prize of $1, 00,000.
Early Life
Aung San Suu Kyi was born on 19 June 1945 in Rangoon (now named Yangon). Her father, Aung San, founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma’s independence from the British Empire in 1947. He was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence. She grew up with her mother, Khin Kyi, and two brothers, Aung San Lin and Aung San Oo, in Rangoon.
Aung San Suu Kyi was educated in Burma, India, and the United Kingdom. While studying at Oxford University, she met Michael Aris, a Tibet scholar who she married in 1972.

Career
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In 1990, the military junta called a general election, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) received 59% of the votes, guaranteeing NLD 80% of the parliament seats.
She had, however, already been detained under house arrest before the elections. It was announced prior to the Burmese general election that Aung San Suu Kyi may be released so she can organize her party. However, Suu Kyi was not allowed to run. On 1 October 2010 the government announced that she would be released on 13 November 2010. She remained under house arrest in Burma for almost 15 of the 21 years from 20 July 1989 until her most recent release on 13 November 2010.Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest at her home on University Avenue in Rangoon. 
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize 1991 was awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights".
International Support

Aung San Suu Kyi has won numerous international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament and the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has called on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma, saying “Please use your liberty to promote ours.”
'Can't stop freedom'
In recent months she has been criticized in some quarters for her decision to boycott the November 2010 elections, Burma's first in 20 years. The NLD said the election laws were unfair and decided not to take part in the polls. Under new election laws, it then had to disband.
But a group of NLD members formed a new party to contest the polls, arguing that some representation in the new parliament would be better than none at all. 
The polls - described as "neither free nor fair" by US President Barack Obama - appear to have left military-backed parties firmly in control. 
Japan’s aid to Myanmar
Japan's foreign minister agreed with Myanmar to start talks on a bilateral investment pact, while calling on the isolated nation to free more political prisoners and meeting pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's new and nominally civilian government, which took power in March, has begun implementing political reforms and engaging with the global community after decades of tight military rule.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said he discussed with government officials and Suu Kyi how Japan could assist in establishing national reconciliation and moving the democratization process ahead at a faster pace. Koichiro Gemba said that Japanese officials will conduct fact finding studies to invest in the Thilawa Port project near Rangoon and Japan will cooperate with Burma in health, education, poverty alleviation and farming.