Arthur Chung was born at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara, Guyana. He was educated at Windsor Forest, Blankenburg, and Modern High School. Before civic service, Chung was an apprentice surveyor and a sworn land surveyor. In the early 1940s, Chung entered the Middle Temple of London, England, and qualified as a barrister in 1947.
He returned to Guyana and was later appointed an acting magistrate. In 1954, he became a magistrate and in 1960 a senior magistrate. He also served as Registrar of Deeds and of the Supreme Court. He then became a puisne judge and finally an Appeal Court Judge in 1963.
When Guyana became a republic under the leadership of Forbes Burnham in 1970, the National Assembly elected Chung as the country’s first President of Guyana. He held the position of President from March 17, 1970, to October 06, 1980, when a constitutional revision transformed the presidency into an executive position and Burnham succeeded Chung as President.
Hon. Arthur Chung was married in 1954 to Ms. Doreen Pamela Ng-See-Quan, with whom he had one daughter and one son.
