Keat Chhon

Born in 1934, Mr. Keat Chhon, is currently also Member of Parliament and First Deputy Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

At the begining of 1993, Mr. Keat Chhon served as Senior Adviser to the Government of the State of Cambodia (SOC). In May 1993 he was elected as member of Constitutional Assembly of which he became the member of the Constitution Drafting Commission and was also appointed in July 1993 as Deputy Prime Minister of the Provisional National Government of Cambodia. The 1993 Constitution of Cambodia has restored the monarchy. The Kingdom of Cambodia has entered then into its Second Era. Mr. Keat Chhon was appointed as Senior Minister in charge of Rehabilitation and Development, and since 1994 he has assumed the Economy and Finance portfolio, serving as Senior Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Royal Government of Cambodia and Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), responsible for coordinating private sector development and international assistance for public investment. He also acts as Cambodia's Governor of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and of the World Bank (WB), and has developed extensive contacts with international, regional and national development banks/funds, as well as development agencies. Since 1993, he has been elected and reelected as Member of Parliament. Between 1996 and 1999 he served as ASEAN Economic Minister (AEM). In 1998, Mr. Keat Chhon represented the Kingdom of Cambodia as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister at the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Durban, South Africa. Since 2000, he has often attended the ASEAN Finance Minister Meeting (AFMM) and AFMM+3. In 2000-2001, Mr. Keat Chhon was elected as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the ADB.

In early 1980s Mr. Keat Chhon worked for a private company in Paris. From 1988 to 1992 Mr. Keat Chhon worked for the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) as Co-Director of the Project on Strategic Management of Industrial Development in Zaire.

In the 1960s, during the Sangkum Reastr Niyum Era under the leadership of Samdech Norodom Sihanouk, Mr. Keat Chhon served in a broad variety of positions: as a chief of engineer in the Ministry of Public Works; General Manager of ODEM, a state enterprise engaged in civil engineering; Chancellor of the Royal University of Kampong Cham; and from 1967 to 1969 ministerial posts in industry and commerce. From 1970 to 1975 he was a Minister in charge of the Council of Ministers of the Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia (RGNUC) .

Mr. Keat Chhon holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Génie Maritime in Paris and another degree in Nuclear Engineering from the Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires in Saclay, France.

Mr. Keat Chhon was appointed Commander of the Légion d’ Honneur of France.