Myanmar’s Suu Kyi to address British Parliament

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi meets with British Foreign Secretary William Hague as she arrives for a meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, Pool)

LONDON — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will address lawmakers from both houses of the British Parliament, one of the few non-heads of state to be given the honor.

Suu Kyi follows dignitaries including South African President Nelson Mandela, Pope Benedict XVI and U.S. President Barack Obama in giving a speech in Parliament’s medieval Westminster Hall.

She also is due to meet Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, and to hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street on Thursday.

Suu Kyi, who spent many years under house arrest in Myanmar, is making her first overseas trip in 24 years. She has visited Switzerland, Norway and Ireland and is spending a week in Britain, where she studied and lived for many years.