Sokhary Chau (pronuniciation: So-Ka-Ree Chao) is a Cambodian born American politician. In 2022, the City Council of

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

elected him to become the next mayor, becoming the first person of Cambodian descent to serve as a mayor in the United States.

Early life and education

Chau was born to a middle class family in Cambodia, in

Battambang province Battambang (, , ) is a province of Cambodia in the far northwest of the country. Bordering provinces are Banteay Meanchey to the north, Pursat to the east and south, Siem Reap to the northeast, and Pailin to the west. The northern and south ...

. On April 17, 1975, his father was executed by the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

when Dictator

Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...

, stormed into

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

, Cambodia’s capital. Much of his early childhood was spent in extreme hardship and fear, almost losing two of his brothers to executions. Despite these circumstances, his family escaped Cambodia in 1979 under the cover of night through land mine laced jungles to a Thai refugee camp. In 1981 he, his mother, and his seven brothers emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Lowell. As a child, he attended Lowell Public Schools and

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

, graduating in 1992. He attended Macalaster College in Minnesota.

Political/Business Career

He was elected to a 2-year term on Lowell City Council in 2019 and re-elected in 2021. Members of the City Council appointed him Mayor of Lowell in January 2022. He is the current chair of the USA-Cambodia Sports Association. In November 2023, he announced that he would run for the Middlesex County Register of Deeds seat that will become vacant in 2024.

References

External links

Official Government link

Official Campaign website
Mayors of Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell, Massachusetts City Council members American people of Cambodian descent Asian-American people in Massachusetts politics American mayors of Asian descent Cambodian emigrants to the United States Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts Living people Year of birth missing (living people) City council members of Asian descent {{Massachusetts-mayor-stub