Chan Sy, also spelt Chan Si, (; 1932 – 26 December 1984) was a Cambodian politician who served as the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

People's Republic of Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia which existed from 1979 to 1989. It was a satellite state of Vietnam, founded in Cambodia by the Vietnamese-backed Kampuchean United Front for Nationa ...

from 1982 until his death in 1984.

Biography

Chan Sy was a Cambodian of Chinese descent who early in his life became a military figure by joining the Khmer Viet Minh forces in 1950s. Chan Sy left Cambodia in 1954 after the Geneva Conference that recognized Prince Norodom Sihanouk's government as the sole legitimate authority in independent Cambodia. A member of the Communist Party from 1960, Chan Sy was believed to have returned to Cambodia in 1970 after the coup that ousted Prince Sihanouk and placed the pro-U.S. Lon Nol in power. Chan Sy, who was opposed to ultra-nationalist

Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...

, by whose partisans he was detained in 1973. He reappeared on the scene in 1978, with the forces of the

Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation The Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (, UNGEGN: ''Rônâsĕrs Samôkki Sângkrŏăh Chéatĕ Kâmpŭchéa''; , FUNSK), often simply referred to as Salvation Front, was the nucleus of a new Cambodian regime that would topple the K ...

(KUFNS) and with the Vietnamese that toppled the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. After some months of military training in the Soviet Union, in 1980 he was appointed deputy defense minister and following year defense minister and vice-president of the Council of Ministers; the same year he also became a member of the Politburo of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP). When Pen Sovan was replaced as party general secretary by Heng Samrin, Chan Sy took over the premiership. Considered a steadfast adherent to Vietnam's Kampuchean policy, Chan Sy had made visits to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

as well as to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In the National Assembly he represented his native province. Chan Sy spent many years in Vietnam and was a founding member of the

(FUNSK) that overthrew

's regime. After the establishment of the

, he became chief political commissar of the armed forces, and eventually appointed by the National Assembly as Prime Minister on February 9, 1982. Chan Sy died in a

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

hospital, where he was being treated for a cardiac ailment, in December 1984. His death was reported by the Vietnamese information agency on December 31, 1984, although he was believed to have died some days earlier. Chan Sy was a good friend of Pen Sovan, who fell into disgrace earlier for irritating the Vietnamese. The circumstances of his death were mysterious.Margaret Slocomb, ''The People's Republic of Kampuchea, 1979-1989: The revolution after Pol Pot''

Biography

References

See also