Kem Sokha

He married Te Chanmono in 1980 and had two daughters with her: Kem Monovithya (1981) and Kem Samathida (1987).

Kem Sokha was born on June 27, 1953, in Tram Kak, Takeo, Cambodia, in an underprivileged family.

In 1973, after completing his school education, he came to Phnom Penh to study law from the Royal University of Law and Economics. Since he did not have enough money, he used to stay in a pagoda.

In 1975, Cambodia came under Khmer Rouge regime. Like millions others, Kem Sokha too became a victim of the Khmer Rouge regime; he lost his father and brother.

In 1979, when Khmer Rouge rule ended and Cambodia came under Vietnamese occupation, Kem Sokha became the District Deputy Chief in Phnom Penh.

Not really satisfied with the way his country was being governed, he secretly started supporting the Freedom Fighters—a Cambodian group resisting the Vietnamese occupation.

He resigned from his job and joined a non-political humanitarian organization, when the government got suspicious of his activities.

He was later advised by his well wisher to leave the country, on the pretext of studying abroad on a scholarship, in order to evade possible arrest.

In 1981, he went to the Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czech Republic, from where he graduated with a Master of Science degree in biochemistry in 1986.

Kem Sokha has been a strong advocate of respect for human rights and has done stellar work in raising awareness of human rights among common citizens.