1. Chea Sim was President of the Cambodian People's Party from 1991 to 2015, President of the National Assembly of Cambodia from 1981 to 1998 and President of the Senate from 1999 to 2015.
14 Facts About Chea Sim
1. 2.
Chea Sim was born on 15 November 1932, in Romeas Haek, Svay Rieng Province to an ethnic Chinese family.
3.
Chea Sim later became a military commander of the communist Khmer Rouge even before it finally toppled the US-backed Lon Nol government in 1975.
4.
Chea Sim later held positions in the new party and People's Republic of Kampuchea government, installed and backed by Vietnam after it invaded Cambodia and ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
5.
Chea Sim was among the founding members of the United Front for the National Salvation of Kampuchea, the Vietnam-backed group that defeated the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
6.
From 6 April 1992 to 14 June 1993, Chea Sim served as the nation's interim leader before Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy.
7.
Chea Sim acted as Head of State on behalf of King Norodom Sihanouk for brief periods in 1993,1994,1995 and 2004.
8.
Chea Sim had led a powerful faction within the ruling CPP party which was at times at odds with Hun Sen and his supporters, but many describe Sim's role after that as little more than symbolic.
9.
Chea Sim left the position of acting Head of State on 14 October 2004, when Norodom Sihamoni became king.
10.
Chea Sim was absent from the 63rd anniversary celebrations of the CPP in June 2014, following years in which age and illness from high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic ailments forced him to back away from his roles and receive medical care in Vietnam.
11.
Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams described it as a "mockery of justice" that Chea Sim was able to continue being one of the rulers of the post-Khmer Rouge government without being brought to justice, as Chea Sim was accused of overseeing atrocities committed under his role as a military commander.
12.
Brad Adams accused Chea Sim of operating "a police state" in the 1980s that arrested, imprisoned, and tortured Cambodian political activists without trial.
13.
Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith criticized The Phnom Penh Post for publishing an article which accused Chea Sim of violating human rights under the Khmer Rouge regime.
14.
AKP argued, in that barbaric regime, Samdech Chea Sim was just a simple local official.