The Mother Who Was Overlooked

When she talked about politics, she was very diplomatic—Suu Kyi must have learned a great deal about Burma’s politics from her mother, he added.

Tin Moe was often invited in the early 1980s to visit Khin Kyi at her lakeside home in Rangoon. Suu Kyi would be there, visiting from her home in London, and Khin Kyi would chat with them while gardening or sitting in the kitchen.

Although Khin Kyi never shared the fame of her husband and daughter, she was a successful woman in her field. She was a member of parliament from 1947-1952, became chairperson of the Women’s Association of Burma in the 1950s and a leading light in other social organizations.

In 1960 she became Burma’s first and only woman ambassador, representing her country in India and also taking special responsibility for Nepal. Her teenage daughter wasn’t neglected in this busy time—Suu Kyi studied diligently, took riding and piano lessons and dallied with such social skills as flower arrangement.

Khin Kyi’s achievements were rewarded with honors from the US, Yugoslavia and Thailand, while at home the Rangoon government awarded her the Maha Thiri Thudhamma prize, given for services to Burmese social and religious life.

Suu Kyi was the child of a happy union. Her father fell deeply in love with the senior staff nurse who treated him during his World War II campaigns and they married in 1942. Khin Kyi was the name of the beautiful young nurse.

Suu Kyi wrote of the romance in her biography of her father: “[Khin Kyi] handled Aung San with firmness, tenderness, and good humor. The formidable commander-in-chief was thoroughly captivated.

“Aung San had married a woman who had not only the courage and warmth he needed in his life’s-companion but also the steadfastness and dignity to uphold his ideals after he was gone.”

These ideals were clearly instilled in her daughter by Khin Kyi.