Key events in Myanmar, long under military rule

— 4 January, 1948: The country then known as Burma gained independence from British colonial rule.

— 1962: Military leader Ne Win staged a coup and ruled the country through a junta for many years.

— 1988: Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of an independence hero, returned to her home country as pro-democracy protests were erupting against the junta. Security forces opened fire on demonstrators in August protests, and hundreds were killed.

— July 1989: An increasingly outspoken critic of the junta, Suu Kyi was put under house arrest.

—27 May, 1990: The National League for Democracy, founded by Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory in the elections, but the military refused to hand over power.

— October 1991: Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful struggle against the regime.

— 7 November , 2010: A pro-junta party won Myanmar’s first election in 20 years, a vote that was boycotted as unfair and rigged in its favour.

— 13 November, 2010: Suu Kyi was freed from detention after spending long periods of the past two decades under house arrest.

— 2012: Suu Kyi won a by-election and took her seat in the parliament, holding public office for the first time.

— 8 November, 2015: The NLD won a sweeping victory in general elections that were the first openly held election since 1990. The military retained significant power under a constitution that also barred Suu Kyi from the presidency, but the position of state counselor was created for her to lead the government.

— 25 August, 2017: Insurgents attacked military outposts in the western state of Rakhine, killing dozens. The military responded with a massive crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim population. Later, thousands of Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh.

—11 December, 2019: Suu Kyi defended the military in a case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, denying that they had committed genocide.

— 8 November, 2020: Myanmar held elections, with the NLD capturing an outright majority in Parliament.

— 29 January, 2021: Myanmar’s election commission rejected the military’s allegations of fraud in the elections, finding no evidence to support the claims.

— 1 February, 2021: Myanmar military takes control of the country for one year, citing the government’s failure to act against its claims of voter fraud and refusal to postpone the November elections because of the coronavirus crisis. Suu Kyi is again placed under house arrest as per the statement of her party.