On November 13th, 2010, Burmese  politician and the current leader  of opposition in Burmese parliament, Aung San Suu Kyi was released after the military regime put her in house arrest for over a decade. Suu Kyi’s continuous struggle for a Burmese democratic government made her one of the most prominent political prisoners. She was awarded many prizes such as the Congressional Gold Metal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the United States, and she was also named a honorary citizen of Canada, one of only four ever given. Her name became a symbol for freedom and moral power as she reemerged after captivity.

Suu Kyi’s father was a military leader who negotiated Burma’s independence from the British Empire. She attended school in Oxford and worked in the United Nations before going back to Burma. Suu Kyi founded the Nation League for Democracy in 1988 but was under house arrest soon after. Military government offered her freedom if she leaves Burma; she refused.