Sokhary Chau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sokhary Chau | |
|---|---|
| 93rd Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts | |
| In office January 3, 2022[1][2] – January 2, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | John Leahy |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Rourke |
| Member of the Lowell City Council | |
| Assumed office 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Profession | Politician, Businessman |
Sokhary Chau (pronuniciation: So-Ka-Ree Chao) is a Cambodian born American politician. In 2022, the City Council of Lowell, Massachusetts elected him to become the next mayor, becoming the first person of Cambodian descent to serve as a mayor in the United States.[3][1][2]
Chau was born to a middle class family in Cambodia, in Battambang province.[4] On April 17, 1975, his father was executed by the Khmer Rouge when Dictator Pol Pot, stormed into Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital.[5]
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.[6] In 1981 he, his mother, and his seven brothers emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Lowell.[6] As a child, he attended Lowell Public Schools and Phillips Academy, graduating in 1992.[6]
He attended Macalaster College in Minnesota.[7]
