Cambodian anti-communist resistance leader
On 22 June 1982 in Kuala Lumpur he joined Sihanouk and the Khmer Rouge in forming the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, became its prime minister, and helped it retain Cambodia's UN seat.
Cambodian politician and anti-communist resistance leader. Born at Phnom Penh in 1911 into a Khmer Krom family, he studied in Paris and entered the civil service in 1935. He held the vice-premiership and finance posts in 1946–48, was foreign minister in 1950–51, president of the National Bank of Cambodia in 1955–68, and prime minister of Cambodia in 1967–68. Placed under house arrest after the 1970 coup, he later left for France, formed the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) in 1978–79 and became prime minister of the 1982 Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea. He founded the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party in 1992, was elected in 1993, served as President of the National Assembly that year, and left for Paris in 1997, dying there of heart failure on 19 December 2000.
Career Timeline
- 1946–1948Vice-premier and finance minister
- 1950–1951Foreign minister
- 1955–1968President of the National Bank of Cambodia
- 1967–1968Prime Minister of Cambodia
- 1978–1979Founded and led the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)
- 1982–1993Prime Minister of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea
- 1992Founded the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party
- 1993President of the National Assembly