TIME magazine has rolled out its annual 100 Most Influential People list, and whadya know, Aung San Suu Kyi is on it.
No surprises there. Suu Kyi is at the head of Myanmar’s new government, and is definitely one of the most influential people in this country.
But what is surprising is the author of the entry on Suu Kyi: US President Barack Obama.
In some ways, this is fitting. In 2012, Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Myanmar, and the country’s transition from authoritarian state to newbie democracy started only a few years after he was elected in 2008.
The personal touch is evident.
“Welcoming her into the Oval Office, I was struck immediately by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s quiet dignity,” Obama writes in the entry. “She’s soft-spoken, but is driven by a fierce determination—fortified by 15 years of house arrest—to bring democracy to her beloved Burma. Visiting her at her simple home in Rangoon two months later, I saw where The Lady had sustained herself by studying Buddhist teachings on love and compassion.”
Although some parts are cringeworthy (soft-spoken, simple home in Rangoon, etc) it’s clear Obama is a fan.
He continues:
Today, having made the journey from prisoner to parliamentarian and party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi leads a party that won a landslide victory in last year’s election. Daw Suu is now guiding the country’s first civilian government in more than 50 years. Burma still faces huge challenges, and its success will depend on ending long-running conflicts and upholding the human rights of all ethnic groups and religions. But democracy is poised to deliver a future of greater promise and prosperity.
“We human beings,” she has said, “are so riddled with imperfection.” But, she adds, “in spite of the imperfections, democracy still remains a beacon of hope for all of us.” Now more than ever, The Lady remains a beacon of hope for 50 million people reaching for justice, and for millions more around the world.
Indeed.
