Saukham Khoy

Président de la République

Peter Khoy Saukam (February 2, 1915 – November 14, 2008) was Acting President of the Khmer Republic in Cambodia for 12 days in April 1975.

Born on 2 February 1915, Saukam Khoy enlisted into the Royal Khmer Army 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.

He took office on April 1, 1975, when Lon Nol left ‘temporarily’ Cambodia with his entire family.
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 April the 12th, five days before Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge.
Khoy died at the age of 93 in California, United States on November 14, 2008.