Pol Pot (1925?-1998), a Cambodian Communist and leader of the Khmer Rouge movement, was prime minister of Cambodia from 1976 to 1979. Under the rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, more than 11/2 million Cambodians died as a result of execution, disease, starvation, or hard labor.
Pol Pot, whose real name was Saloth Sar, was born in Kompong Thom Province. From 1949 to 1953, he lived in Paris, where he studied radio technology and took part in Communist activities. In 1953, he joined the Indochinese Communist Party, and in 1960, he led the reorganization of Cambodia’s Communist Party. In 1975, Pol Pot’s Communist guerrilla forces, the Khmer Rouge, overthrew the Cambodian government. The following year, Pol Pot became prime minister.
Under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, the government took over all businesses and farms, outlawed religion, closed schools, and enlisted children in the military. It forced most urban Cambodians to move to the countryside and work on farms. Many people died of disease, starvation, and overwork. The Khmer Rouge executed many Cambodians, including former government officials, educated people, and religious leaders.
In 1979, invading Vietnamese troops and Cambodian political groups opposed to the Khmer Rouge overthrew Pol Pot’s government. Pol Pot then directed Khmer Rouge guerrilla operations against the new government. In the early 1990’s, the Khmer Rouge broke up into a number of factions. Pol Pot died in a jungle hut on April 15, 1998.
See also Cambodia (History); Khmer Rouge.
