Alexander Myint San Aung Aris (, ; born 12 April 1973) is the elder son of

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

and Michael Aris. He is also a grandson of Aung San, who is credited with achieving the independence of Myanmar (although he was assassinated in 1947, six months before the independence). He has been representing his mother, who has been detained by the military junta for years; he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for her, and on many other awards and occasions, he has represented her.

Early life

Aris was born on 12 April 1973 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to Aung San Suu Kyi and Michael Aris. His younger brother Kim Aris was born in 1977. His family home was in Park Town, North Oxford. In March 1988, his mother returned to Burma in order to nurse her dying mother Daw Khin Kyi, the wife of Aung San. She did not return to Oxford until June 2012, having been placed under house arrest in Burma for political reasons in 1989.

Education

Aris was educated at two private schools in his home city of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

: at Dragon School, a co-educational preparatory school, followed by Magdalen College School, a senior school for boys, which he left in 1990. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in the United States and received a MSc in

Mathematical Sciences The Mathematical Sciences are a group of areas of study that includes, in addition to mathematics, those academic disciplines that are primarily mathematical in nature but may not be universally considered subfields of mathematics proper. Statisti ...

Life after mother's detention

In 1989, Alexander and his brother Kim were both stripped of their Burmese citizenships by the ruling junta (military government). The two brothers are British nationals. In 1988, when Kim Aris was only 11, his mother had to leave their home in

to look after her dying mother in Burma. In 1991, Alexander's mother

won the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

for her efforts in Burma. At the time, Alexander Aris (age 18) and his brother Kim Aris (age 14) accepted the prize on their mother's behalf. The Nobel Peace Prize's 1.3 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

prize money was used to establish a

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

and

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

trust for the Burmese people. Over the years, Aris has accepted many awards and given many speeches on behalf of his mother. They include accepting The Award of the International Human Rights Law Group; welcoming the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Spain; and accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the US. After his father's death in 1999, Aris visited his mother for a short time.

References

External links

Alexander's Acceptance Speech of the Nobel Prize
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aris, Alexander 1973 births Living people Activists from London Aung San Suu Kyi British civil rights activists English democracy activists English human rights activists English pacifists English people of Burmese descent English people of Canadian descent English people of French-Canadian descent English Theravada Buddhists Family of Aung San People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford People from Hammersmith People from Oxford