Myanmar Transition

Myanmar entered a new era yesterday as the first civilian-led president took charge, officially ending decades of military control. Here is a timeline of a nation that went from colony to military dictatorship, but has begun making a remarkable and peaceful democratic transition: 

1885: Centuries of rule by a Buddhist monarchy ends with the defeat and exile of Burma's last king by the British.  Burma becomes a province of British India.

1941-1945: Japan occupies Burma during World War II. Nationalist hero Aung San fights with the Japanese, but swaps sides in the war's closing stages in the hope of achieving independence. His daughter Aung San Suu Kyi, who would go on to lead the pro-democracy movement, is born in 1945.

1948: Burma attains full independence from the British on January 4, a dream Aung San never lived to see following his assassination months earlier.

1962: After years of factional infighting, General Ne Win seizes power in a coup, turning the country from a multi-party federal union into an authoritarian one-party state ordered to follow his "Burmese Path to Socialism".

1988: Years of disastrous economic mismanagement and political repression see Burma erupt in protest. The military responds brutally, killing an estimated 3,000 people. Suu Kyi emerges as a key opposition leader.

1989: Junta changes the country's name to Myanmar.

1990: Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) wins a landslide victory in elections but the result is simply ignored by the military. Suu Kyi is placed under house arrest for much of the next 20 years. Many other opposition leaders are jailed or flee.

NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles with army members. Photo: AFP

1991: Suu Kyi wins the Nobel Peace Prize while under house arrest.

2010: Suu Kyi is released.

2011: In a surprise move, the junta cedes power to a quasi-civilian government. Many basic rights are restored, hundreds of political prisoners are freed.

NLD members celebrate in front of the parliament building after the swearing in ceremony yesterday. Photo: AFP

2012: The NLD wins 43 out of 45 seats in April by-elections. Suu Kyi becomes an MP. Western powers lift most sanctions.

2015: Suu Kyi's NLD win a landslide November victory in the first free and fair elections in decades.