Pol Pot | |
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Pol Pot in 1978
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General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea | |
In office 22 February 1963 – 6 December 1981 |
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Vice Secretary | Nuon Chea |
Preceded by | Tou Samouth |
Succeeded by | N/A (party dissolved) |
Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea | |
In office 25 October 1976 – 7 January 1979 |
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President | Khieu Samphan |
Deputy |
Ieng Sary Son Sen Vorn Vet |
Preceded by | Nuon Chea (acting) |
Succeeded by | Pen Sovan |
In office 14 April 1976 – 27 September 1976 |
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President | Khieu Samphan |
Preceded by | Khieu Samphan (acting) |
Succeeded by | Nuon Chea (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Saloth Sar 19 May 1925 Prek Sbauv, Kampong Thom, Cambodia |
Died | 15 April 1998 Anlong Veng, Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia |
(aged 72)
Resting place | Anlong Veng, Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia |
Political party | Communist Party |
Spouse(s) |
Khieu Ponnary (m. 1956–1979, divorce) Mea Son (m. 1986–1998, his death) |
Children | Sar Patchata |
Alma mater | French School of Electronics and Computer Science |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Democratic Kampuchea |
Service/branch | National Army of Democratic Kampuchea |
Years of service | 1963–1997 |
Rank | General |
Pol Pot (/pɒl pɒt/, US /poʊl/; Khmer: ប៉ុល ពត; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998), born Saloth Sar (Khmer: សាឡុត ស), was a Cambodian politician and revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until 1997. From 1963 to 1981, he served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. As such, he became the leader of Cambodia on 17 April 1975, when his forces captured Phnom Penh. From 1976 to 1979, he also served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea.
He presided over a totalitarian dictatorship, in which his government made urban dwellers move to the countryside to work in collective farms and on forced labour projects. The combined effects of executions, strenuous working conditions, malnutrition and poor medical care caused the deaths of approximately 25 percent of the Cambodian population. In all, an estimated 1 to 3 million people (out of a population of slightly over 8 million) perished as a result of the policies of his four-year premiership.