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Maha Thiri Thudhamma Khin Kyi (; 16 April 1912 – 27 December 1988) was a Burmese politician and diplomat, best known for her marriage to the country's leader, Aung San, with whom she had four children, including Aung San Suu Kyi. She served as the Minister of Social Welfare and MP of the Pyithu Hluttaw for Lanmadaw Township.
She grew up in Myaungmya, an Irrawaddy delta town, the eighth of 10 brothers and sisters. Khin Kyi attended the American Baptist Mission-run Kemmendine Girls School (now Basic Education High School No. 1 Kyimyindaing) in Rangoon, and continued her tertiary education at the Teachers' Training College (TTC) in Moulmein. She then went on to become a teacher at the National School in her hometown, before deciding to give it up altogether to join the nursing profession against her mother's wishes, following the footsteps of her two elder sisters, who were at the time, training to become nurses. Khin Kyi moved to Rangoon and joined the staff of the Rangoon General Hospital as a nursing probationer.
Khin Kyi first met Aung San in 1942, when he was recovering from injuries sustained during the Burma Campaign, at the Rangoon General Hospital, where she served as a senior nurse. The couple wed in September of that year.
Khin Kyi served as the various posts including director of the Burma Women's Association from 1947–1953, chair of the Social Welfare Planning Commission from 1953–1958, chair of the Union of Burma Social Welfare Council, chair of Mother and Child Welfare, chair of the Child Welfare Council, chair of Health and Public Affairs Committee, chair of the Union of Burma Women's Associations Council, chair of the Association for the Advancement of Democracy, chief scout of the Burma Women's Scout Association, administrator of the Myanmar Ambulance Service, and vice-chair of Ramakrishna Missionary Hospital and Library.
In 1953, following the death of her second oldest son, Aung San Lin, the family moved from their house on Tower Lane (now Bogyoke Museum Lane), near Kandawgyi Lake, to a colonial-era villa by the shores of Inya Lake, on University Avenue Road. Their former house was converted to the Bogyoke Aung San Museum in 1962.
In 1960, Khin Kyi was appointed as Burma's Ambassador to India, and became the country's first woman to serve as the head of a diplomatic mission. During her tenure in New Delhi, Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru specially arranged for Khin Kyi and Suu Kyi to live on 24 Akbar Road, in a colonial-era complex designed by Edwin Lutyens. The site, then called "Burma House," is now the national headquarters of the Indian National Congress.
In 2012, her daughter Aung San Suu Kyi founded the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation. It is named in her honour. It works to improve the education, health and welfare of the people of Myanmar.
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