Suu Kyi... from tragic icon to global go-between

In the space of a year, Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been transformed from tragic icon of the country's oppression to hugely influential agent in its rapid reform process.

Before her release from house arrest in November last year, the figure of "The Lady" shut away and silent in her crumbling lakeside mansion was a powerful symbol of a nation labouring under the yoke of a repressive junta.

Now as Myanmar's nominally civilian government begins to make its way back to the international fold, the Nobel laureate finds herself in a position of extraordinary influence.

President Barack Obama took the trouble to ring and consult Suu Kyi before announcing he was sending Hillary Clinton to visit Myanmar in the first trip by a US secretary of state in 50 years -- testament to her key place in the country's evolving global relations.

"She plays a very, very important role. She's a connection between the West and Burma and the country's re-entry into the international community," said Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo, using Myanmar's former name.

As the repercussions of the Arab Spring continue to convulse the Middle East, a Western diplomat said that Myanmar could be fortunate in having a credible figure to unite the country.

"If she plays her cards right and she becomes the moderate leader that we hope she would, Myanmar is in a much better situation than many other countries," he said.

"Not only do they have a government which wants reforms but they've got somebody incredibly respected like Aung San Suu Kyi."

Elections last year brought a new government to power after decades of military rule, and though it remains dominated by army proxies, it has made a series of surprising reforms.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) applied to re-register as a political party last week after boycotting much-criticised 2010 parliamentary polls -- the first step towards contesting upcoming by-elections.

No date for the vote has been set, but Suu Kyi is expected to stand, a move that has been welcomed by former general and President Thein Sein.

Jim Della-Giacoma, South East Asia Project Director at the International Crisis Group (ICG), said the slight, softly spoken 66-year-old is a huge asset to the opposition.

"She is the one who is communicating directly with the US Congress, who are the body most responsible for lifting key sanctions -- she has an international profile that the rest of the opposition does not have," he told AFP.

A move into mainstream politics is the latest chapter in the life of a woman who did not always seemed destined for the role of national heroine.

She is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero General Aung San, but she began her own political career late after spending much of her life abroad.

Suu Kyi studied at Oxford University and had two sons after marrying British academic Michael Aris, appearing to settle into life in Britain.

But when she returned to Yangon in 1988 to nurse her sick mother, protests erupted against the military, which ended with a brutal crackdown that left at least 3,000 dead.

She took a leading role in the pro-democracy movement, delivering speeches to crowds of hundreds of thousands.

Alarmed by the support she commanded, the generals ordered her first stint of house arrest in 1989. However she remained a figurehead for the NLD, which won 1990 elections by a landslide but was never allowed to take power.

In 1991, she won the Nobel Peace Prize, putting her beside Nelson Mandela among the world's leading voices against tyranny.

Her struggle for her country has come at a high personal cost: her husband died in 1999, and in the final stages of his battle with cancer the junta denied him a visa to see his wife.

Suu Kyi refused to leave Myanmar to see him, certain she would never have been allowed to return.

After years of favouring harsh measures against the regime, Suu Kyi now looks determined to be integral to her country's journey as it attempts to shake off its international isolation.

"Some people are worried that taking part could harm my dignity. Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity," she told her party this month.

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