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Peter Khoy Saukam

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Template:Cambodian name

General
Peter Khoy Saukam
President of the Khmer Republic
Acting
In office
April 1, 1975 – April 12, 1975
Preceded byLon Nol
Succeeded bySak Sutsakhan
as Chairman of the Supreme Committee
1st President of the Senate
In office
1972–1975
Prime MinisterSisowath Sirik Matak
Son Ngoc Thanh
Hang Thun Hak
In Tam
Long Boret
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byChea Sim (Office reestablished in 1999)
Personal details
Born
Saukam Khoy

(1915-02-02)February 2, 1915
DiedNovember 14, 2008(2008-11-14) (aged 93)
Stockton, California, U.S.
Political partySocial Republican Party
SpouseVom Tep Saukam
Children7
Military service
Allegiance Cambodia
Khmer Republic
Branch/serviceRoyal Cambodian Army
Khmer National Army
Years of service1940–1975
RankLieutenant general

Peter Khoy Saukam (born Saukam Khoy Khmer: សូកាំ ខូយ; February 2, 1915 – November 14, 2008) was Acting President of the Khmer Republic for 12 days in April 1975. He was President of the Senate from 1972 to 1975.

Early life

Born on 2 February 1915, Saukam Khoy enlisted into the Khmer Royal Army in 1940, when he was 25. He achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1953 and subsequently, lieutenant-general. He became President of the Senate of the Khmer Republic in 1972[1]

Presidency

He took office on 1 April 1975, when a tearful Lon Nol left 'temporarily' with his entire family for Bali in Indonesia after an invitation from his friend, Indonesian President Suharto.[2]

Khoy's time in office was short. He left Phnom Penh together with American Ambassador John Gunther Dean aboard a CH-53 helicopter during the evacuation of American embassy staff and civilians, dubbed Operation Eagle Pull on 12 April, just five days before Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge.[3]

Khoy died at the age of 93 in Stockton, California, United States on 14 November 2008.[4]

References