Pol Pot
ប៉ុល ពតLeader of Democratic Kampuchea
In April 1975 the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh and emptied a city of some two million overnight, driving the people out to the countryside.
Leader of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and Democratic Kampuchea. His 1975–1979 regime imposed forced evacuation, labor, collectivized farming and political purges. War with Vietnam ended its control of Phnom Penh, but the Khmer Rouge continued as an armed movement.
Career timeline
- 1953Returned from France and joined the Khmer Việt Minh
- 1963–1981General Secretary, Communist Party of Kampuchea
- 1976–1979Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea
- 1979Overthrown by the Vietnamese invasion, retreated to the jungle near the Thai border
- 1985–1997Led the remnant Khmer Rouge as Director of the Higher Institute of National Defence
- 1998Placed under house arrest by Ta Mok, then died