U Nu

U Nu (1907-1995), also Thakin Nu, was a Burmese politician who served as the first prime minister of Burma. He was a nationalist. British government imprisoned him at the beginning of World War II, but released to work in nationalist government in 1942. He formed Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League in 1945. When Burma got its independence in 1948, he became prime minister. His government was toppled in 1962 by General Ne Win, and then was imprisoned until 1966. He lived in exile in Thailand and in India. He returned to Burma in 1980.

Wisdom & Quotes

• The ideas of the American Revolution are today the most explosive of all forces, more explosive in their capacity to change the world than B-52s or even atomic bombs.
• Some people have wondered if I didn't have a feeling that I was a man of destiny and that great forces were at work on me. No, I never had that feeling. I was ashamed. I wanted to do what was good rather than what was bad.
• Mistrust begets mistrust, and suspicion begets suspicion. It may have been permissible in the days of conventional weapons for nations to live in a perpetual atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust. But in the nuclear age such a concept is obsolete. We cannot afford to live in mistrust of our neighbours. We have to learn to live with them in mutual trust and confidence; and where this happy state of affairs has not existed in the past, someone has to break the ice. For trust also begets trust, and confidence begets confidence.

Ramon Magsaysay