Khin Kyi

Maha Thiri Thudhamma Khin Kyi (1912–1988) (Burmese: ခင် ကည်) was a
Burmese politician and diplomat, best known for her marriage to the country's
Khin Kyi
leader, Aung San, with whom she had four children, including Aung San Suu ခင် ကည်
Kyi.

Life
She grew up in Myaungmya, an Irrawaddy delta town, the eighth of 10 brothers
and sisters.[1] Khin Kyi attended the American Baptist Mission-run
Kemmendine Girls School (now Basic Education High School No. 1
Kyimyindaing) in Rangoon, and continued her tertiary education at the Teachers'
Training College (TTC) in Moulmein.[1] She then went on to become a teacher
at the National School in her hometown, before deciding to give it up altogether
to join the nursing profession against her mother's wishes, following the
footsteps of her two elder sisters, who were at the time, training to become
nurses.[1] Khin Kyi moved to Rangoon and joined the staff of the Rangoon
General Hospital as a nursing probationer.[1]

Khin Kyi first met Aung San in 1942, when he was recovering from injuries
sustained during the Burma Campaign, at the Rangoon General Hospital, where
Burmese Ambassador to India
she served as a senior nurse.[2] The couple wed in September of that year.
In office
She served as a member of parliament in the country's first post-independence 1960–1967
government from 1947 to 1948, representing Rangoon's Lanmadaw Township, 1st Minister of Social Welfare
the constituency that her husband had won.[3][4] In 1953, she was appointed as In office
Burma's first Minister of Social Welfare.[5] 1953–1960
Preceded by None
In 1953, following the death of
her second oldest son, Aung MP of the Pyithu Hluttaw
San Lin, the family moved from In office
their house on Tower Lane 1947–1948
(now Bogyoke Museum Lane), Constituency Lanmadaw
near Kandawgyi Lake, to a Township
colonial-era villa by the shores Personal details
of Inya Lake, on University
Born 16 April 1912
Avenue Road.[6] Their former
Myaungmya,
house was converted to the
Irrawaddy
Bogyoke Aung San Museum in
Province, British
1962.
Burma
In 1960, Khin Kyi was Died 27 December
appointed as Burma's 1988 (aged 76)
Khin Kyi and her three children in
Ambassador to India, and Rangoon, Burma
1948.
became the country's first
Cause of death Stroke
woman to serve as the head of a diplomatic mission.[5] During her tenure in New Resting place Kandawmin
Delhi, Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru specially arranged for Khin Kyi Garden Mausolea,
and Suu Kyi to live on 24 Akbar Road, in a colonial-era complex designed by Yangon, Myanmar
Edwin Lutyens.[6] The site, then called "Burma House," is now the national Nationality Burmese
headquarters of the Indian National Congress.[7]
Spouse(s) Aung San
(m. 1942;
She died in Rangoon on 28 December 1988, at the age of 76, after suffering a
died 1947)
severe stroke.[8][9] Her funeral, held on 2 January 1989, was attended by over
Relations Pho Hnyin (father)
200,000 people, despite the presence of military trucks which intervened to try to
prevent this gathering.[10][11] She is buried at Kandawmin Garden Mausolea on
Phwa Su (mother)
Shwedagon Pagoda Road in Yangon.[12] Children Aung San Oo
Aung San Lin
Aung San Suu Kyi
Family
Alma mater Teachers' Training
Khin Kyi was born in
College
Myaungmya to parents Pho
Kemmendine Girls
Hnyin and Phwa Su.[13][14]
School
Although it is rumored that
Occupation Diplomat,
Khin Kyi herself was an ethnic
Politician
Karen Christian, she was in fact
a Buddhist of Bamar
ancestry.[14] As her family lived in the Irrawaddy delta, heavily populated by
ethnic Karens, her father Pho Hnyin converted to Christianity (baptised in the
The wedding of Aung San and Khin Baptist Church) as a young man, while her mother was a staunch Buddhist.[6][14]
Kyi
She married Aung San on 7 September 1942.[14] The pair had four children, 2
sons: Aung San Oo and Aung San Lin (who died by drowning at the age of 8)
and 2 daughters: Aung San Suu Kyi and Aung San Chit, who died after delivery.[14]

References
1. Aung San Suu Kyi (29 April 2012). "Letter from Burma: Flowers in her hair" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012050
2091420/http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20120427p2a00m0na020000c.html). The Mainichi.
Archived from the original (http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20120427p2a00m0na020000c.html)
on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
2. Jensen, Vickie (2011). Women Criminals: An Encyclopedia of People and Issues. ABC-CLIO.
ISBN 9780313337130.
3. Edwards, Louise P.; Mina Roces (2000). Women in Asia: Tradition, Modernity, and Globalisation. University of
Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472087518.
4. "Burma and the role of Burmese women" (http://www.burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/199510/msg00070.ht
ml). Documentation and Research Centre. All Burma Students' Democratic Front. 31 July 1995. Retrieved
30 April 2012.
5. Ling, Bettina (1999). Aung San Suu Kyi: Standing Up for Democracy in Burma. Feminist Pres.
ISBN 9781558611962.
6. Wintle, Justin (2007). Perfect Hostage. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 9781602392663.
7. "Home bond: leader's present, Lady's past" (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101115/jsp/frontpage/story_131782
22.jsp). The Telegraph. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
8. "Suu Kyi Pays Tribute to Her Mother" (http://www2.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20420). The Irrawaddy. 27
December 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
 9. "Daw Khin Kyi, Burmese Leader's Widow, 76" (https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/28/obituaries/daw-khin-kyi-bur
mese-leader-s-widow-76.html). Associated Press. New York Times. 28 December 1988. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
10. Abrams, Irwin (1999). Peace 1991-1995. World Scientific. pp. 13–15. ISBN 9789810227234.
11. Aung Zaw (18 October 2011). "A Spirit That Never Dies" (http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=222
79). The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
12. BBS U Win Tin (6 February 2012). "Shedding light on shadows from our country's past" (https://web.archive.org/
web/20120310154541/http://www.mmtimes.com/2012/news/613/news61303.html). Myanmar Times. Archived
from the original (http://www.mmtimes.com/2012/news/613/news61303.html) on 10 March 2012. Retrieved
14 April 2012.
13. Shwe Yinn Mar Oo (13 February 2012). "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed in delta 'home' " (https://web.archive.
org/web/20120423171214/http://mmtimes.com/2012/news/614/news61401.html). Myanmar Times. Archived from
the original (http://www.mmtimes.com/2012/news/614/news61401.html) on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April
2012.
14. Bengtsson, Jesper (2012). Aung San Suu Kyi: A Biography. Potomac Books. ISBN 9781612341590.

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