Pen Sovan

Pen Sovan
MP
Member of Parliament
for Kampong Speu
Assumed office
August 5, 2014
Majority 186,867 (46.9%)
32nd Prime Minister of Cambodia
In office
June 27, 1981  December 5, 1981
President Heng Samrin
Preceded by Pol Pot
Succeeded by Chan Sy
Minister of National Defense
In office
January 7, 1979  December 5, 1981
Preceded by Son Sen
Succeeded by ?
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party
In office
January 5, 1979  December 5, 1981
Succeeded by Heng Samrin
Personal details
Born (1936-04-15) April 15, 1936
Tram Kak, Takéo, Cambodia
Political party Cambodia National Rescue Party
Other political
affiliations
Human Rights Party (2007–2012)
National Sustaining Party (1998–2007)
Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (1978–1981)
Religion Buddhism
Military service
Allegiance  Cambodia
Service/branch Khmer Issarak
Khmer Rouge
Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation
Years of service 1949–1981
Battles/wars First Indochina War
Cambodian Civil War

Pen Sovan (Khmer: ប៉ែន សុវណ្ណ; born April 15, 1936) is a Cambodian politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Hanoi-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea from June 27 to December 5, 1981, and was General Secretary of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP, French acronym 'PRPK') from 1979 to 1981. He was arrested and removed from office in December 1981 by the Vietnamese for irritating Lê Đức Thọ, the chief adviser to the PRK government. He was imprisoned in Vietnam until January 1992.

Sovan founded the Cambodian National Sustaining Party, which contested in the 1998 election but did not a seat in parliament. He later joined the Human Rights Party founded in 2007 and served as its vice president. In 2012, he became a member of the newly founded Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and stood as an MP candidate for Kampong Speu. He was elected and was sworn in on August 5, 2014.

Biography

Pen Sovan was born into an ethnic Vietnamese family in Takeo.[1] He first joined the Khmer Issarak at the age of 13 in 1949 and fought against the French. Two years later, Sovan joined the Indochinese Communist Party where he first met Ta Mok. Sovan supported the Khmer Rouge during the 1970-1973 civil war against the Khmer Republic and he worked along with Chan Si under Khieu Thirith, in charge of the Voice of the United National Front of Kampuchea. From 1973 to 1979, Sovan lived in exile in Hanoi.[2]

Sovan was a founding leader of Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (KUFNS or FUNSK) on November 25, 1978. He served as Secretary-General of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party from January 5, 1979 to 1 December 1981, when he was replaced by Heng Samrin following his removal from office by the Vietnamese.

Sovan was arrested on December 2, 1981 for irritating Lê Đức Thọ, chief Vietnamese advisor to the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (FUNSK) and the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). He was released from Vietnam's prison on January 25, 1992, after he served over 10 years. Sovan explained his long ordeal in prison: "When I wanted to create our own army of five regiments, the Vietnamese didn't agree and Lê Đức Thọ went to the USSR to complain."[3]

See also

References

  1. Scalapino, Wanadi (1982), p. 225
  2. The People's Republic of Kampuchea, 1979-1989: The revolution after Pol Pot ISBN 978-974-9575-34-5
  3. Quoted by Margaret Slocomb in The People's Republic of Kampuchea, 1979-1989: The revolution after Pol Pot ISBN 978-974-9575-34-5

Bibliography

Political offices
Preceded by
Vacant
Pol Pot as Prime Minister in 1979
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Kampuchea
1981
Succeeded by
Chan Sy
Party political offices
Preceded by
None
First Secretary of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party
1979 1981
Succeeded by
Himself
General Secretary
Preceded by
Himself
First Secretary
General Secretary of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party
1981
Succeeded by
Heng Samrin
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.