{{BLP sources|date=October 2012}} thumb|Official portrait, circa 2001 '''Sichan Siv''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|iː|tʃ|ɑː|n|_|s|ɪ|v}} {{respell|SEE|chahn|_|siv}}) was the United States ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council from 2001 to 2006. From 1989 to 1993, Ambassador Siv served at The White House as deputy assistant to President George H. W. Bush and at the State Department as deputy assistant secretary. He has also held various positions in the private sector and has written two books.
==Biography== Siv was born in Pochentong, Cambodia, in 1948.<ref name="UKY">{{cite web|url=http://www.uky.edu/Centers/Asia/SECAAS/Seras/2009/14_Ha_2009.pdf|title=Interview with Sichan Siv|last=Ha|first=Quan Manh|year=2009|work=Southeast Review of Asian Studies|page=207|accessdate=16 December 2016}}</ref> His entire family - 15 total, including his mother - were killed during Pol Pot's reign of terror.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-luce/only-in-america-ambassado_b_384623.html|title=Only in America: Ambassador Sichan Siv - From the Killing Fields to the White House|first=Jim|last=Luce|date=18 March 2010|work=Huffington Post|accessdate=16 December 2016}}</ref> He arrived in the United States in 1976, and enrolled in the Master of International Affairs Program at Columbia University with a full scholarship.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=October 8, 2012|title=FROM REFUGEE TO UN AMBASSADOR: SICHAN SIV'S AMERICAN JOURNEY|url=https://sipa.columbia.edu/news/refugee-un-ambassador-sichan-sivs-american-journey|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=Columbia SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs}}</ref> He became a US citizen in 1982. He was a volunteer in George H. W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaign and was appointed as his deputy assistant in 1989. He was the first American of Asian Ancestry to hold that position.<ref name="Shea">{{Cite web |last=Shea |first=Mike |date=2008-07-01 |title=Sichan Siv Interview |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/sichan-siv-interview/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Texas Monthly |language=en}}</ref> He later attended the U.S. Army War College. In 2001, Siv was unanimously confirmed by the Senate and appointed by President George W. Bush as the United States ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, a position he held until 2006.<ref name="UKY"/> In 2006, he moved to Texas.<ref name="Shea"/> In 2021, Siv endowed a scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin for undergraduate students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Martha Pattillo Siv and Ambassador Sichan Siv Endowed Scholarship {{!}} UT iSchool {{!}} The University of Texas at Austin |url=https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/news/martha-pattillo-siv-and-ambassador-sichan-siv-endowed-scholarship |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.ischool.utexas.edu}}</ref>
==Awards== {{BLP unreferenced section|date=December 2016}} He is the recipient of the George H.W. Bush Award for Outstanding Public Service, DAR Americanism Medal, U.S. Army Commander's Award, and Brazilian Academy of Art, Culture and History Honors. He has been a volunteer in the Civil Air Patrol and an honorary commander of the U.S. Air Force. He was conferred an Honorary Doctoral Degree in public service from The University of Cambodia in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=The University of Cambodia Honorary Doctorates|url=http://uc.edu.kh/honorary-doctorate-ebook/UC%20Honorary%20Doctorate%20for%20Ebook.pdf|website=The University of Cambodia|accessdate=4 May 2018}}</ref>
==Literary works== Siv has authored two books: ''Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America'' (2009) and ''Golden State, Love and Conflict in Hostile Lands'' (2014).
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.sichansiv.com}} *[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/opinion/17siv.html?_r=1 "The Karma of the Killing Fields"], an op-ed by Siv published in the ''New York Times'' *[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/opinion/26siv.html "Last Breakfast in Cambodia"], an op-ed by Siv published in the ''New York Times''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Siv, Sichan}} Category:Living people Category:American people of Cambodian descent Category:American diplomats Category:School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people)