Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi: From house arrest to a landslide election victory

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-democracy icon of Burma, has led her opposition party to what is shaping up to be a landslide victory over the military junta that has ruled the Southeast Asia country for decades. (Jorge Silva/Reuters)

​Celebrations in Rangoon

Voting unfolded smoothly on Sunday in Burma, also known as Myanmar, amid a mood of jubilation marking the country's first free election in 25 years, a large step in a journey to democracy from dictatorship. But some barriers remain. (Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters) 

A promise to respect outcome

Current President Thein Sein, above, a former general whose ruling party is closely aligned with the military, said the results would stand. "Our government and the military want to repeat that we will respect the outcomes of the free and fair election," Sein said in a speech broadcast on national television in Burma. The final vote count is expected no sooner than Tuesday, but his party has conceded defeat. (Aung Shine Oo/Associated Press)

Thwarted election victory in 1990

The military put Suu Kyi under arrest in 1989 during a crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) swept an election in 1990, but the junta ignored the result and kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for 15 of the next 20 years. (Jonathan Karp/Reuters)

Daughter of a hero

Suu Kyi is the daughter of national hero Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947, six months before seeing his country achieve independence from Britain. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Military stumbling block

Under Burma's constitution, 25 per cent of the 664 seats in parliament are reserved for the military. It's believed Suu Kyi's party will have the necessary seats for a majority, but the elected members will propose three candidates for president, electing one, while the other two will be vice-presidents. Above, former junta supremo Gen. Than Shwe, who ruled the country directly for 18 years, from 1992 until 2011, when he stepped down in favour of Thein Sein. (Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Ruling from above

Despite the apparent election win by her party, Burma's constitution bars Suu Kyi from seeking the presidency, because she has a foreign spouse and children, an amendment that seems to have been designed to exclude her. But she has said, "I am going to be above the president … I will run the government and we will have a president who will work in accordance with the policies of the NLD." (Sai Aung Min/Reuters)

Rohingya minority largely excluded

Hundreds of thousands of voters from the Rohingya Muslim minority were struck from voter rolls and not allowed to vote in Sunday's election, and human rights groups have criticized Suu Kyi for not speaking in their defence. Above, a Rohingya Muslim woman who has a citizen card shows her inked finger after voting at a refugee camp. (Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Nobel Peace Prize

In 1991 Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but was unable to receive it while under house arrest. She finally gave her acceptance speech for the prize in Oslo in 2012. (John McConnico/Associated Press)

Honorary Canadian

Suu Kyi receives her honorary Canadian citizenship from then foreign affairs minister John Baird at her home in Rangoon in March 2012. Suu Kyi said Canada's sanctions on Burma helped in the push for reform. (Paul Chiasson/Pool/Reuters)