Chau Seng Explained

Chau Seng
Native Name:ចៅ សេង
Native Name Lang:km
Birth Date:15 March 1929
Birth Place:Tri Tôn, Châu Đốc Province, Cochinchina, French Indochina
Death Place:Democratic Kampuchea
Occupation:Politician
Organization:Sangkum

Chau Seng (Central Khmer: ចៅ សេង, 15 March 19291977) was a Cambodian left-wing politician.

Seng was a Khmer Krom. Born in commune of Tri Tôn, Châu Đốc Province, Cochinchina (in present-day An Giang Province, Vietnam). He was a cousin of Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum. Educated in France, in Paris, he became a communist. On his return to Cambodia, he had become Norodom Sihanouk's private secretary.[1] He joint the Sangkum on 13 April 1957 together with Hou Yuon and Hu Nim. In the same year, Chau Seng was elected a member of National Assembly. After that he was appointed under-secretary, and later secretary of state for education. In 1967, he was rector of the Buddhist University.[2] Seng made a national attempt at Cambodianization, however it was failed.[3]

After the Cambodian coup of 1970 in which Sihanouk was ousted by Lon Nol, Chau Seng served as the Minister for Special Missions of the GRUNK government, the Beijing-based government-in-exile that was formed as a coalition between Sihanouk and the communists.[4]

Seng was arrested, tortured and later executed by the Khmer Rouge at S-21 prison[5] in 1977.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Philip Short, Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare, p. 129
  2. Book: Area Handbook for Cambodia . 178 . October 1968 . . Munson, Frederick P. . Martindale, Kenneth W. . McMorris, David S. . Parachini, Kathryn E. . Raiford, William N. . Townsend, Charles.
  3. Book: Anatomy of a Crisis: Education, Development, and the State in Cambodia, 1953-1998. David M. Ayres. April 2007. University of Hawaii Press. 978-0-8248-2238-5. 43–44.
  4. https://www.eccc.gov.kh/sites/default/files/documents/courtdoc/00842167-00842169_E3_1720_EN.TXT.pdf GRUNK - Place de Barcelone
  5. News: Pol Pot's Daughter Marries in Former Stronghold. Cambodian Daily. 17 March 2014. 23 June 2019. 29 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190529105409/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/pol-pots-daughter-marries-in-former-stronghold-54276/. dead.
  6. Book: Anatomy of a Crisis: Education, Development, and the State in Cambodia, 1953-1998. David M. Ayres. April 2007. University of Hawaii Press. 978-0-8248-2238-5. 108.