Sim Var

Sim Var was born in 1906 in the Kompong Cham district of Tbuong Khmom (now a province) to a family of farmers. He was one of the first Cambodian nationalists. He co-founded the Democratic Party in 1946 alongside fellow nationalists Chhean Vam and Ieu Keous, with the purpose of leading a democratic movement against the French protectorate. He also co-founded the first newspaper in Cambodia in 1939 along with Pach Chheun and Son Ngoc Thanh, known as "Nokor Wat". He took refuge in Paris during the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia until his death on 12 October 1989 at the age of 83. ==References==