Pen Sovan ( km, ប៉ែន សុវណ្ណ; 15 April 1936 – 29 October 2016) was a
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
n politician and revolutionary who served as the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...
of the
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
-backed
People's Republic of Kampuchea
The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; vi, Cộng hòa Nhân dân Campuchia was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia supported by Vietnam which existed from 1979 to 1989. It was founded in Cambodia by the K ...
from 27 June to 5 December 1981. He also served as General Secretary of the
Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP) from 1979 to 1981. He was arrested and removed from office in December 1981 by the Vietnamese for irritating
Lê Đức Thọ
Lê Đức Thọ (; 14 October 1911 – 13 October 1990), born Phan Đình Khải in Nam Dinh Province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician. He was the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with ...
, 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 win 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
The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP; km, គណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ ) was a major political party in Cambodia. It was founded in 2012 as a merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party (Cambodia), Hum ...
(CNRP) and stood as an MP candidate for Kampong Speu. He was elected and was sworn in on 5 August 2014, serving until his death in October 2016.
Biography
Pen Sovan was born in Chan Teab Village,
Samraong Commune,
Tram Kak District,
Takéo province. He first joined the
Khmer Issarak
The Khmer Issarak ( km, ខ្មែរឥស្សរៈ, or 'Independent Khmer') was a "loosely structured" anti- French and anti-colonial independence movement. The movement has been labelled as “amorphous”. The Issarak was ...
at the age of 13 in 1950 and fought against the French. Two years later, Sovan joined the
Indochinese Communist Party
The Indochinese Communist Party (ICP), km, បក្សកុម្មុយនីស្តឥណ្ឌូចិន, lo, ອິນດູຈີນພັກກອມມູນິດ, zh, t=印度支那共產黨 was a political party which was t ...
where he first met
Ta Mok. Sovan supported the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
during the 1970-1973 civil war against the
Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...
and he worked along with
Chan Sy 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
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
.
Sovan was a founding leader of
(KUFNS or FUNSK) on 25 November 1978. He served as Secretary-General of the
Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party from 5 January 1979 to 1 December 1981, when he was replaced by
Heng Samrin
Heng Samrin ( km, ហេង សំរិន; born 25 May 1934) is a Cambodian politician who serves as the President of the National Assembly of Cambodia. Between 1979 and 1992, he was the ''de facto'' leader of the Hanoi-backed People's Republi ...
following his removal from office by the Vietnamese.
Sovan was arrested on 2 December 1981 for irritating
Lê Đức Thọ
Lê Đức Thọ (; 14 October 1911 – 13 October 1990), born Phan Đình Khải in Nam Dinh Province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician. He was the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with ...
, chief
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
ese 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 25 January 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
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
to complain." Sovan died in Doun Kaev,
Takéo Province on 29 October 2016. He was cremated in
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become ...
on 6 November 2016. On 10 November, Suon Rida was appointed to fill Sovan's vacant seat.
See also
*
Communist Party of Kampuchea
References
Bibliography
* Luke Young
Cambodian Political History. The Case of Pen SovannIn: ''Monthly Review'' 65.1 (November 2013).
* Scalapino, Robert A.; Wanadi, Jusuf; ''Economic, political, and security issues in Southeast Asia in the 1980s'', Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1982,
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pen, Sovan
1936 births
2016 deaths
20th-century Cambodian politicians
21st-century Cambodian politicians
Human Rights Party (Cambodia) politicians
Cambodian nationalists
Cambodian socialists
Cambodian revolutionaries
Cambodian military personnel
Cambodian People's Party politicians
Cambodian people imprisoned abroad
Cambodian people of Vietnamese descent
Members of the National Assembly (Cambodia)
Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation politicians
Communist Party of Kampuchea politicians
Cambodia National Rescue Party politicians
People from Takéo province
Defence ministers of Cambodia
People's Republic of Kampuchea
Communist rulers
Prisoners and detainees of Vietnam
Prime Ministers of Cambodia
Cambodian politicians convicted of crimes