Sokhary Chau
93rd Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts
Assumed office
January 3, 2022[1][2]
Preceded byJohn Leahy
Member of the Lowell City Council
Assumed office
2019
Personal details
BornCambodia
Residence(s)Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
ProfessionPolitician, Businessman

Sokhary Chau is a Cambodian American politician. In 2022, the City Council of Lowell, Massachusetts elected him to become the next mayor, becoming the first American mayor of Cambodian descent to hold the position as well as the first in the whole country.[3][1][2]

Early life and education

Chau was born in Cambodia. At the end of the Cambodian Civil War his father was shot and killed by the Khmer Rouge. In 1981 he, his mother, and his seven brothers emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Lowell.[4] As a child, he attended Lowell Public Schools and Phillips Academy, graduating in 1992.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "First Cambodian American mayor in U.S. takes office". NPR.org. Associated Press. January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023. Mayor Sokhary Chau addresses the assembly during the Lowell City Council swearing-in ceremony on Monday [January 3] in Lowell, Mass.
  2. ^ a b Betancourt, Sarah (January 4, 2022). "Nation's first Cambodian American mayor takes office in Lowell". GBH News. Retrieved January 11, 2023. On Monday [January 3], Chau was elected as the first Cambodian American mayor in the United States, taking the oath of office in the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.
  3. ^ "Sokhary Chau becomes first Cambodian American mayor in U.S." January 4, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Savard, Rita (March 3, 2022). "Meet Sokhary Chau '92: The first Cambodian American mayor in the US". Andover University. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

External links

Political offices Preceded byJohn Leahy Mayor of Lowell January 3, 2022—present Succeeded byIncumbent
Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in Massachusetts
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