A Comparison of the Careers of Hillary Clinton and Aung San Suu Kyi

Both Hillary Clinton and Aung San Suu Kyi are international figures that greatly expanded the prestige of women in the public sphere. Yet, while Clinton and Suu Kyi both experienced great political success, the systems of government that they lived under greatly impacted their careers. Though both figures share biographies marked by strong family connections and notable leadership roles, the freedoms that the women had to pursue public office and serve in formal government positions varied greatly.

The first area of commonality between Hillary Clinton and Aung San Suu Kyi rests on their family connections. According to a U.S. Department of State profile, Hillary Clinton gained exposure to public office when she met and married her husband Bill Clinton at Yale Law School. As the profile notes, Clinton had been a successful attorney, worked as an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 to serve as a chair of the Legal Services Corporation. Yet, some of the most significant work during her career came when she was First Lady of the State of Arkansas, where she chaired several children’s advocacy organizations (Hillary Rodham Clinton). Further, when Clinton’s husband was elected President of the United States, she gained national exposure for her support of health care and her advocacy for women’s rights internationally (Hillary Rodham Clinton). Similarly, Aung San Suu Kyi, educated at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, obtained her reputation as the daughter of U Aang San, a Burmese leader who was assassinated in 1947 when Suu Kyi was two years old (Erlanger A.11). When Suu Kyi decided to lead the cause for democracy in her home country, she cited her relationship with her father as her core motive for becoming involved in the struggle. Both Clinton and Suu Kyi utilized strong familial connections to gain political notoriety in their respective countries. However, the beginnings of both women demonstrate that they were initially dependent upon the reputations of their families in order to advance their image. The decisions that they made later in their lives enabled them to distinguish themselves from the reputations of their families.

Next, both Clinton and Suu Kyi managed to hold strong leadership roles at the national level. According to the U.S. Department of State profile on Clinton’s achievements, the former first lady continued on to become a United States Senator in the state of New York in the year 2000. This achievement was noteworthy because Clinton became the first First Lady to gain a seat in the Senate and she was the first woman to win a statewide election in New York (Hillary Rodham Clinton). Similarly, Suu Kyi gained important political exposure when she was appointed as secretary-general of the National League for Democracy (NDL), a political party that was formed in protest to the military regime in Burma (Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi). The party enjoyed nationwide success when it won a landslide victory in 1990, ushering the end to authoritarian rule in Burma (Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi). The political victories of Clinton and Suu Kyi were symbolically important because they symbolized that two female figures could extend their own careers beyond those of their family members. While Clinton managed to serve elected office and have a successful political career outside of her marriage, Suu Kyi managed to become a leading figure in the pro-democracy movement far after her father had passed away.

However, the political systems that Clinton and Suu Kyi lived under greatly impacted the overall success that they enjoyed in their careers. Because Clinton lived in an established democracy, she had the opportunity to participate freely in elections and serve in future public positions. However, Suu Kyi faced a different fate under Burma’s authoritarian regime. In 1989, Suu Kyi was charged with “endangering the state” for her pro-democratic stances and was kept under house arrest for a 20-year period (Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi). Eventually, Suu Kyi was sent to Insein prison in 2003 before again being released for a further sentence to house arrest (Suu Kyi). Thus, while Suu Kyi was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her role in the pro-democracy movement (Erlanger A.11), her role in politics remained largely symbolic. Unlike Clinton, Suu Kyi was never able to hold public office and exercise direct political authority. While the reverence that Suu Kyi earned was important in elevating the status of women in Burma and internationally, it fell short of increasing the direct political power of women in the country.

Both Hillary Clinton and Aung San Suu Kyi are two accomplished women who greatly elevated the roles of women in politics. Both figures received top-notch educations and managed to utilize their family connections in order to obtain public exposure in their respective countries. Further, both Clinton and Suu Kyi enjoyed electoral victories that demonstrated their ability to expand their careers beyond the influence afforded by their family connections. By becoming the first First Lady to become a U.S. Senator, Clinton demonstrated that women could hold real power at the national level that extended beyond ceremonial roles. Similarly, by leading the National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi demonstrated that a female candidate can win a nationwide referendum. However, the nature of the governments that Clinton and Suu Kyi lived under impacted their political outcomes. Because Clinton lived under a democratic regime, she was able to extend her career with little controversy (with the exception of the Benghazi Report), while Suu Kyi was subjected to house arrest and repression. Yet, despite their different outcomes, both Clinton and Suu Kyi played an important role in increasing the possibilities for female political leaders around the world.

Works Cited

Erlanger, Steven. “Woman in the News; Burmese Whose Silenced Voice Echoes: Aung San Suu Kyi [Biography].” New York Times. 15 Oct. 1991. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

“Hillary Rodham Clinton.” U.S. Department of State. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

“Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi.” McClatchy – Tribune Business News. 15 May 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.