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{{Short description|Cambodian politician}}
{{Short description|Cambodian politician (1905–2009)}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
{{Infobox Officeholder
|honorific-prefix = [[Samdech]]
| honorific-prefix = [[Samdech]]
|name = Chau Sen Cocsal
| name = Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
|image = Chau-Sen-Cocsal-Chhum.jpg
| image = Chau-Sen-Cocsal-Chhum.jpg
|caption = Chhum in November 2004
| caption = Chhum in 2004
|order =
| order = Acting
|office = [[Prime Minister of Cambodia]]
| office = Prime Minister of Cambodia
|status = Acting
| status =
|president = [[Norodom Sihanouk]]
| president = [[Norodom Sihanouk]]
|term_start = 6 August 1962
| term_start = 6 August 1962
|term_end = 6 October 1962
| term_end = 6 October 1962
|predecessor = [[Nhiek Tioulong]]
| predecessor = [[Nhiek Tioulong]]
|successor = [[Norodom Kantol]]
| successor = [[Norodom Kantol]]
|office1 = [[List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Cambodia|President of the National Assembly]]
| office1 = [[List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Cambodia|President of the National Assembly]]
|term_start1 = 1966
| term_start1 = 1966
|term_end1 = 1968
| term_end1 = 1968
|term_start2 = 1962
| term_start2 = 1962
|term_end2 = 1963
| term_end2 = 1963
|birth_name = Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1905|9|1}}
⚫
| birth_place = [[Tri Tôn]], [[An Giang Province|Châu Đốc]], [[French Cochinchina|Cochinchina]],[[French Indochina]]<br>(now [[An Giang Province|An Giang]], Vietnam)
|birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1905|9|1}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2009|1|22|1905|9|1}}
⚫
|birth_place = [[Tri Tôn]], [[An Giang Province|Châu Đốc]], [[French Cochinchina|Cochinchina]], [[French Indochina]]<br />(now [[An Giang Province|An Giang]], Vietnam)
| death_place = [[Phnom Penh]], [[Cambodia]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2009|1|22|1905|9|1}}
|death_place = [[Phnom Penh]], Cambodia
| blank1 = Ethnicity
|blank1 = Ethnicity
| nationality = Cambodian
|nationality = Cambodian
| data1 = [[Khmer Krom]]
|data1 = [[Khmer Krom]]
| party = [[Sangkum]] (1955–1970)
|party = [[Sangkum]] (1955–1970)
| spouse = {{marriage|Vann Thi Hai|2 April 1940}}
|spouse = {{marriage|Vann Thi Hai|2 April 1940}}
| children = 7
⚫
| relatives = [[Koun Wick]] (cousin)<ref name="rulers.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rulers.org/indexc2.html|title = Index Ch}}</ref>
|children = 7
| native_name_lang = km
⚫
|relatives = [[Koun Wick]] (cousin)<ref name="rulers.org">https://www.rulers.org/indexc2.html</ref>
| native_name = {{nobold|ចៅ សែនកុសល ឈុំ}}
| monarch = [[Sisowath Kossamak]]
}}
}}
'''Chau Sen Cocsal''' ({{lang-km|ចៅ សែនកុសលឈុំ}}, {{transl|km|Chau Sênkŏsâl}}; 1 September 1905<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bnJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Chau+Sen+Cocsal+Chhum+1905&dq=Chau+Sen+Cocsal+Chhum+1905&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwil3_7bqJHUAhXQKiwKHfulCVYQ6AEIHDAA Profile of Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum]</ref><ref name="rulers.org"/><ref>http://www.edc.com.kh/aboutus.php</ref> – 22 January 2009), also known as '''Chhum''' (Khmer: ឈុំ, {{transl|km|Chhŭm}}), was a Cambodian civil servant and [[politician]] who served as [[Prime Minister of Cambodia]] in 1962 and [[List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Cambodia|President of the National Assembly]] twice, in 1962–1963 and 1966–1968. He lived for {{age in years and days|1905|9|1|2009|1|22}}, making him the [[List of longest-living state leaders|longest-lived state leader in the world]] with the known date of birth and death. The only leader possibly longer living than him is another Cambodian prime minister, [[Ek Yi Oun]] (1910–2013). Chhum was awarded the honorary title "[[Samdech]]" in 1993 by [[Norodom Sihanouk|King Norodom Sihanouk]].
'''Chau Sen Cocsal''' ({{langx|km|ចៅ សែនកុសល}}, {{transl|km|Chau Sênkŏsâl}}; 1 September 1905<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bnJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Chau+Sen+Cocsal+Chhum+1905 Profile of Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum]</ref><ref name="rulers.org"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.edc.com.kh/aboutus.php|title=អគ្គិសនីកម្ពុជា}}</ref> – 22 January 2009), also known as '''Chhum''' (Khmer: ឈុំ, {{transl|km|Chhŭm}}), was a Cambodian civil servant and [[politician]] who served as [[Prime Minister of Cambodia]] in 1962 and [[List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Cambodia|President of the National Assembly]] twice, in 1962–1963 and 1966–1968. Chhum was awarded the honorary title "[[Samdech]]" in 1993 by [[Norodom Sihanouk|King Norodom Sihanouk]].


==Early life==
==Early life==
Chhum was born into an ethnic [[Khmer people|Khmer]] ([[Khmer Krom]]) family in the commune of [[Tri Tôn]], [[Châu Đốc Province]] (today renamed as [[An Giang Province]]), [[French Indochina]] (present-day [[Vietnam]]), on 1 September 1905.<ref>Royal Palace (2009)</ref><ref name="Pomonti, J.C. 2009">[[Jean-Claude Pomonti|Pomonti, J.C.]] (2009)</ref> Chuum attended primary school at [[Phnom Penh]] before moving to [[Saigon]] where he attended the Lycée Chasseloup Laubac. At the age of 21, Chhum became the first Cambodian to graduate there, with a baccalaureate in French and Philosophy. Upon graduation, he began a career in the French Colonial Administration in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with the position of Second Class Civil Servant (Cadre Supérieur de Deuxième Classe / Anuk Montrei).
Chhum was born into an ethnic [[Khmer people|Khmer]] ([[Khmer Krom]]) family in the commune of [[Tri Tôn]], [[Châu Đốc Province]] (today renamed as [[An Giang Province]]), [[French Indochina]] (present-day [[Vietnam]]), on 1 September 1905.<ref>Royal Palace (2009)</ref><ref name="Pomonti, J.C. 2009">[[Jean-Claude Pomonti|Pomonti, J.C.]] (2009)</ref> Chhum attended primary school at [[Phnom Penh]] before moving to [[Saigon]] where he attended the Lycée Chasseloup Laubac. At the age of 21, Chhum became the first Cambodian to graduate there, with a baccalaureate in French and Philosophy. Upon graduation, he began a career in the French Colonial Administration in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with the position of Second Class Civil Servant (Cadre Supérieur de Deuxième Classe / Anuk Montrei).


==Career==
==Career==
Line 48: Line 50:


==Death==
==Death==
On 22 January 2009, at the age of 103, Cambodia's last remaining civil servant from the French Administration, and the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum was publicly cremated with full military guard and honour. He was saluted by official communiqués by King Father Norodom Sihanouk,<ref>Norodom Sihanouk (2009)</ref> King [[Norodom Sihamoni]],<ref>Norodom Sihamoni (2009)</ref> France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs,<ref>Ambassade de France au Cambodge (2009)</ref> and the Khmer Krom community. In an obituary published in the ''[[Phnom Penh Post]]'', his family wrote that Chhum should be remembered as "a man considerate of the rights of others, small or tall", who "always had kind words for the anonymous faces tirelessly serving the high and mighty. For Samdech Chhum thought of himself as a mere servant."<ref>De Lopez, T. T. (2009)</ref> A few years before his death, Chhum had already asked his grandson to convey his apologies to the population of Phnom Penh for the traffic congestion that his long funeral cortege would cause. "To have served dutifully and unfailingly was his greatest pride."{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} From 10 June 2004, when former [[Greece|Greek]] [[List of Prime Ministers of Greece|Prime Minister]] [[Xenophon Zolotas]] died, until his own death, Chhum was the world's oldest living former head of state.
On 22 January 2009, at the age of 103, Cambodia's last remaining civil servant from the French Administration, and the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum was publicly cremated with full military guard and honour. He was saluted by official communiqués by King Father Norodom Sihanouk,<ref>Norodom Sihanouk (2009)</ref> King [[Norodom Sihamoni]],<ref>Norodom Sihamoni (2009)</ref> France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs,<ref>Ambassade de France au Cambodge (2009)</ref> and the Khmer Krom community. In an obituary published in the ''[[Phnom Penh Post]]'', his family wrote that Chhum should be remembered as "a man considerate of the rights of others, small or tall", who "always had kind words for the anonymous faces tirelessly serving the high and mighty. For Samdech Chhum thought of himself as a mere servant."<ref>De Lopez, T. T. (2009)</ref> A few years before his death, Chhum had already asked his grandson to convey his apologies to the population of Phnom Penh for the traffic congestion that his long funeral cortege would cause. "To have served dutifully and unfailingly was his greatest pride."{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} From 10 June 2004, when former [[Greece|Greek]] [[List of Prime Ministers of Greece|Prime Minister]] [[Xenophon Zolotas]] died, until his own death, Chhum was the world's oldest living former head of government.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Cambodia]]|years=1962}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Cambodia]]|years=1962}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Norodom Kantol]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Norodom Kantol]]}}
|-
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box
| title = [[List of oldest living state leaders|Oldest living state leader]]
| years = 10 June 2004 – 22 January 2009
| before = [[Xenophon Zolotas]]
| after = [[Abdel Halim Muhammad]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}
{{CambodianLeaders}}
{{CambodianLeaders}}
Line 82: Line 76:
{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, Sen Cocsal}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, Sen Cocsal Chhum}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Cambodian politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Cambodian politicians]]
[[Category:Cambodian centenarians]]
[[Category:Cambodian men centenarians]]
[[Category:Men centenarians]]
[[Category:Khmer Krom people]]
[[Category:Khmer Krom people]]
[[Category:People from An Giang Province]]
[[Category:People from An Giang province]]
[[Category:Sangkum politicians]]
[[Category:Sangkum politicians]]
[[Category:Presidents of the National Assembly (Cambodia)]]
[[Category:Presidents of the National Assembly (Cambodia)]]
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Cambodia]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Cambodia]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in Cambodia]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in Cambodia]]
[[Category:Cambodian Buddhists]]
[[Category:Cambodian Buddhists]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Cambodia to France]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Cambodia to France]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour]]

Latest revision as of 01:31, 1 December 2024

Samdech
Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
ចៅ សែនកុសល ឈុំ
Chhum in 2004
Acting Prime Minister of Cambodia
In office
6 August 1962 – 6 October 1962
MonarchSisowath Kossamak
PresidentNorodom Sihanouk
Preceded byNhiek Tioulong
Succeeded byNorodom Kantol
President of the National Assembly
In office
1966–1968
In office
1962–1963
Personal details
Born(1905-09-01)1 September 1905
Tri Tôn, Châu Đốc, Cochinchina,French Indochina
(now An Giang, Vietnam)
Died22 January 2009(2009-01-22) (aged 103)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
NationalityCambodian
Political partySangkum (1955–1970)
Spouse
Vann Thi Hai
​
(m. 1940)​
Children7
RelativesKoun Wick (cousin)[1]
EthnicityKhmer Krom

Chau Sen Cocsal (Khmer: ចៅ សែនកុសល, Chau Sênkŏsâl; 1 September 1905[2][1][3] – 22 January 2009), also known as Chhum (Khmer: ឈុំ, Chhŭm), was a Cambodian civil servant and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia in 1962 and President of the National Assembly twice, in 1962–1963 and 1966–1968. Chhum was awarded the honorary title "Samdech" in 1993 by King Norodom Sihanouk.

Early life

[edit]

Chhum was born into an ethnic Khmer (Khmer Krom) family in the commune of Tri Tôn, Châu Đốc Province (today renamed as An Giang Province), French Indochina (present-day Vietnam), on 1 September 1905.[4][5] Chhum attended primary school at Phnom Penh before moving to Saigon where he attended the Lycée Chasseloup Laubac. At the age of 21, Chhum became the first Cambodian to graduate there, with a baccalaureate in French and Philosophy. Upon graduation, he began a career in the French Colonial Administration in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with the position of Second Class Civil Servant (Cadre Supérieur de Deuxième Classe / Anuk Montrei).

Career

[edit]

In 1928, Chau Sen Cocsal was promoted Deputy Governor of Takéo Province (Gouverneur Adjoint), then successively posted in Tralach District, Takéo Province, in 1931 and Thbaung Khmaum, Kompong Cham Province, in 1935. In 1938, Chhum became Governor of Svay Rieng Province. From 1940 to 1944, he was Governor of Kompong Chhnang Province. During World War II, Chhum refused to supply forced labour to the Japanese occupying forces in Cambodia and joined resistance in the jungle.

With the return of the French Administration, Chhum was nominated Mayor of Phnom Penh in 1945, Governor of Kompong Cham Province in 1946, then Governor of Kandal Province in 1948. In 1951, Chhum was sent to Thailand, as Cambodia's first ambassador to a foreign country. Chhum returned to Cambodia in 1952 and once more took to the jungle to fight for the country's independence from France.

In 1955, Chau Sen Cocsal was elected to the Cambodian National Assembly as deputy of Kompong Cham Province. From 1958 to 1963, he occupied the position of President of the National Assembly. In 1969, at the age of 64, Chhum retired from public office.

In April 1975, after the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge and Saigon to North Vietnamese troops and the Viet Cong, as Chau Sen Cocsal was visiting relatives in Kampuchea Krom, he was arrested by Vietnamese authorities. Charged with spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency, Chhum was incarcerated for 17 months in what he would later describe as a "chicken box" then in a room where he took turns sleeping with 40 other prisoners.[5] Chau Sen Cocsal spent an additional two years under house arrest in Saigon. Under the pressure of France, Vietnam released Chhum, who was allowed to migrate to France with his wife.

In 1991, following the signature of the Paris Peace Agreements, King Norodom Sihanouk nominated Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum as President of Cambodia's Supreme National Council (SNC). From 1992 onwards, he became High Privy Advisor of King Norodom Sihanouk. In 1993, Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum was awarded the highest rank in Cambodia's civil service, "Samdech". The same year, he became Dean of the Constitutional Council. Le Monde correspondent, Jean-Claude Pomonti, in a personal interview, quoted Chau Sen Cocsal as having "little affinity with the current Cambodian regime", assessing that its leadership "had almost sold Cambodia to the Vietnamese".[5] Chhum retired a second time from public office in 2007. His decorations include Grand Croix de l'Ordre Royal (Cambodia) and Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur (France).

Death

[edit]

On 22 January 2009, at the age of 103, Cambodia's last remaining civil servant from the French Administration, and the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum was publicly cremated with full military guard and honour. He was saluted by official communiqués by King Father Norodom Sihanouk,[6] King Norodom Sihamoni,[7] France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[8] and the Khmer Krom community. In an obituary published in the Phnom Penh Post, his family wrote that Chhum should be remembered as "a man considerate of the rights of others, small or tall", who "always had kind words for the anonymous faces tirelessly serving the high and mighty. For Samdech Chhum thought of himself as a mere servant."[9] A few years before his death, Chhum had already asked his grandson to convey his apologies to the population of Phnom Penh for the traffic congestion that his long funeral cortege would cause. "To have served dutifully and unfailingly was his greatest pride."[citation needed] From 10 June 2004, when former Greek Prime Minister Xenophon Zolotas died, until his own death, Chhum was the world's oldest living former head of government.

Personal life

[edit]

On 2 April 1940, Chau Sen Cocsal married Vann Thi Hai and they had seven children.[10]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Index Ch".
  2. ^ Profile of Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
  3. ^ "អគ្គិសនីកម្ពុជា".
  4. ^ Royal Palace (2009)
  5. ^ a b c Pomonti, J.C. (2009)
  6. ^ Norodom Sihanouk (2009)
  7. ^ Norodom Sihamoni (2009)
  8. ^ Ambassade de France au Cambodge (2009)
  9. ^ De Lopez, T. T. (2009)
  10. ^ Who's Who, the Most Influential People in Cambodia. 2007. ISBN 9789995066000.

References

[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Cambodia
1962 		Succeeded by
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