AKP Phnom Penh, March 12, 2021 —

American lawyer Bretton G. Sciaroni, 69, died on Friday, friends said.  

The senior partner in regional law firm Sciaroni & Associates was one of the first foreign lawyers in Cambodia after the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991.

He negotiated the first foreign investment for a US$60 million brewery in 1993, when Sciaroni & Associates was founded as the local office of Tilleke & Gibbins, the largest independent law firm in Bangkok. 

In response to the requirements of the Cambodian Bar Association in 2004, Sciaroni & Associates became an independent firm. The firm began expanding into Laos and Myanmar in 2011 and had more than 35 advisors, paralegals and support staff.

Sciaroni was active in the business community, serving as the chairman of American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia and the International Business Chamber Cambodia. 

“Brett was terrific, personally and professionally,” recalled Luke Hunt,” a Phnom Penh-based foreign correspondent and columnist with The Diplomat.

"He ranked among the handful of foreigners who genuinely knew Cambodia and the powers that made it work. 

“He also helped many people, including me, but preferred not to talk about that and never asked for anything in return. But my fondest memories are Brett behind the bar in the best of moods when he was funny, enlightening and generous," Hunt said. 

“He'll be missed, a real piece of history who made a hefty contribution to Cambodia's restoration in the post-war years.”

Hunt said he first met Sciaroni after arriving in Phnom Penh in 2001 as bureau chief for the local office of French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

By Sao Da