Aung San Suu Kyi To Receive Oxford Honorary Doctorate

Suu Kyi To Receive Honorary Doctorate

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to receive an honorary doctorate from Oxford University, the university has revealed.

The university has said that the Burmese politician was awarded the honorary degree by the university in April 1993, but has been unable to receive it in person until now.

The advanced degree, in civil law, will be presented at the institution's annual Encaenia ceremony, during Ms Suu Kyi's trip to the UK next month.

Ms Suu Kyi's week-long UK trip, which was confirmed by Downing Street last weekend, will also see her address MPs and peers at Westminster.

The visit, which begins on 18 June, will also give her the chance to be reunited with her sons and grandchildren whom she barely knows.

Prime Minister David Cameron extended the invitation for her to come to the UK on a visit to Burma last month, but at the time Ms Suu Kyi, who had previously been unwilling to leave for fear the country's military rulers would not let her return, was cautious about accepting.

Ms Suu Kyi read philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at St Hugh's College, Oxford, between 1964 and 1967 before returning to Burma in 1989, where she was soon placed under house arrest for the next 20 years.