Sak Sutsakhan
|
General Sak Sutsakhan |
|
|---|---|
| Chairman of the Supreme Committee | |
|
In office April 12, 1975 – April 17, 1975 |
|
| Preceded by |
Saukham Khoy (acting) as President of the Khmer Republic |
| Succeeded by |
Norodom Sihanouk as President of the State Presidium |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 8, 1928 Battambang, Cambodia, French Indochina |
| Died | April 29, 1994 (aged 66) Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Cambodia (pre-1970 Kingdom of Cambodia) Cambodia (Khmer Republic) Khmer People's National Liberation Front
|
| Service/branch | Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces |
| Years of service | 1957–1994 |
| Rank |
 Major general
|
General Sak Sutsakhan (8 February 1928 - 29 April 1994) was a Cambodian politician and soldier who had a long career in the country's politics. He was the last Head of State of the Khmer Republic, the regime overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Sak Sutsakhan formed a pro-US force known as the "Khmer Sâ" (White Khmer).
Sutsakhan was born in Battambang. He was the cousin of Nuon Chea, who would later go on to be a prominent member of the Khmer Rouge. He studied at the Royal Military Academy and the French General Staff School in Paris; his subsequent career with the small Cambodian army, the Forces Armées Royales Khmeres (FARK) resulted in his rapid promotion, and under the Sangkum regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk he became the world's youngest Minister of Defence in 1957 at the age of 29.
Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, in which Prince Norodom Sihanouk was deposed by General Lon Nol, Sutsakhan continued his career within the army, now renamed the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), and oversaw its substantial expansion in 1971-72. He served as Minister of Defence several times, was the commander of the FANK Special Forces, and had a good reputation amongst U.S. diplomats and military advisors as a competent senior officer, as well as a capable and non-corrupt politician.
After the U.S. embassy staff and acting President Saukam Khoy departed Phnom Penh on April 12 during Operation Eagle Pull, a seven-member Supreme Committee, headed by Lieutenant-General Sak Sutsakhan, assumed the authority over the collapsing Republic. Sutsakhan took over the post of Head of State and chaired the Governing Council that attempted to negotiate a conditional ceasefire with the Khmer Rouge, who were besieging Phnom Penh. Sutsakhan remained in the capital until the communist forces entered it on April 17, escaping with his family on the last Khmer Air Force helicopter to leave Phnom Penh's National Stadium. Sutsakhan was married and had four children.
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