Pen Sovan

Pen Sovan
ប៉ែន សុវណ្ណ
Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Cambodia
In office
27 June 1979 – 5 December 1981
PresidentHeng Samrin
Preceded byPol Pot (1979)
Succeeded byChan Sy (acting)
Member of Parliament
for Kampong Speu
In office
5 August 2014 – 29 October 2016
Preceded bySay Chhum
Succeeded bySuon Rida
Minister of Defense
In office
10 January 1979 – 5 December 1981
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded bySon Sen
Succeeded byBou Thang
General Secretary of the Cambodia People's Revolutionary Party
In office
5 January 1979 – 4 December 1981
Preceded byTou Samouth
Succeeded byHeng Samrin
Personal details
Born(1936-04-15)15 April 1936
Tram Kak District, Takéo Province, Cambodia, French Indochina
Died29 October 2016(2016-10-29) (aged 80)
Doun Kaev, Takéo Province, Cambodia
Political party
Military service
AllegianceCambodia
People's Republic of Cambodia
Branch/serviceKhmer Issarak
Cambodia United Front for National Salvation
Years of service1949–1981
Battles/warsFirst Indochina War
Cambodia Civil War
Cambodian–Vietnamese War

Pen Sovan (Khmer: ប៉ែន សុវណ្ណ; 15 April 1936 – 29 October 2016) was a Cambodian politician and revolutionary who served as the Prime Minister of the Hanoi-backed People's Republic of Cambodia from 27 June 1979 to 5 December 1981. He also served as General Secretary of the Cambodia People's Revolutionary Party (CPRP) from 1979 to 1981. He was arrested and removed from office in December 1981 by the Vietnamese for irritating Lê Đức Thọ, the chief adviser to the PRK government. He was imprisoned in Vietnam until January 1992.

Sovan founded the Cambodia National Sustaining Party, which contested in the 1998 election but did not win a seat in parliament. He later joined the Human Rights Party founded in 2007 and served as its vice president. In 2012, he became a member of the newly founded Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and stood as an MP candidate for Kampong Speu. He was elected and was sworn in on 5 August 2014, serving until his death in October 2016.