Pol Pot

Saloth Sar (May 19, 1925 – April 15, 1998), better known as Pol Pot, was the ruler of the Khmer Rouge and the Prime Minister of Cambodia (officially Democratic Kampuchea during his rule) from 1976 to 1979, having been de facto leader since mid-1975.

Early life and revolution

Saloth Sar was born in Prek Sbauv in what was then a part of French Indochina but is now in the province of Kompong Thong, Cambodia (since 1925). In 1934 his parents sent him to Phnom Penh to be educated at a Wat Botum Vaddei, a large Buddhist monastery. After a year there, he went to live with his brother, and his brother's wife and began attending the Ecole Miche. On his first attempt to pass the Certificat d'Etudes Primaires Complémentaires in 1941, he failed and was held back. He did not pass it until 1943. He also failed the entrance exam for Lycée Sisowath and so attended a junior middle school called Collège Preah Sihanouk at Kampong Cham in 1943. During his time there he was again a mediocre student, but enjoyed playing football and played the roneat (a bamboo xylophone). In 1947 he passed the end-of-year exams and was selected to attend Lycée Sisowath.

Related Topics:
Prek Sbauv - French Indochina - Kompong Thong - Cambodia - 1934 - Phnom Penh - Wat Botum Vaddei - Buddhist - Monastery - Certificat d'Etudes Primaires Complémentaires - 1941 - 1943 - Kampong Cham - Football - Roneat - Bamboo - Xylophone - 1947

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In 1949, he won a scholarship to study radio engineering in Paris. During his study, he became a communist, and joined the French Communist Party. In 1953, he returned to Cambodia.

Related Topics:
1949 - Paris - Communist - French Communist Party - 1953

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At that time, a communist-led revolt was taking place against the French occupation of Indochina. The centre of this uprising was in Vietnam, but it also took place in Cambodia and Laos. Saloth Sar joined the Viet Minh, but found that they regarded only Vietnam of importance, not Laos and Cambodia. In 1954, the French left Indochina, but the Viet Minh also withdrew to North Vietnam, and King Norodom Sihanouk called elections. Sihanouk abdicated, and formed a political party. Using his popularity and some intimidation, he swept away the communist opposition and gained all of the government seats.

Related Topics:
Vietnam - Laos - Viet Minh - 1954 - North Vietnam - Norodom Sihanouk - Political party

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Saloth Sar fled Sihanouk's secret police and spent seven years in hiding, training recruits. In the late 1960s, Sihanouk's head of internal security, Lon Nol took action against the revolutionaries, known as the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Saloth Sar started an armed uprising against the government, supported by the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Related Topics:
1960s - Lon Nol - People's Republic of China

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Prior to 1970, the Communist Party of Kampuchea was an insignificant factor in Cambodian politics. However, in 1970 American-backed General Lon Nol deposed Sihanouk, because the latter was seen as supporting the Viet Cong.

Related Topics:
1970 - Lon Nol - Viet Cong

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In protest, Sihanouk threw his support to Saloth Sar's side. That same year, U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered a military incursion into Cambodia in order to destroy Viet Cong sanctuaries bordering on South Vietnam. Sihanouk's popularity, along with the U.S. incursion into Cambodia, drove many to Saloth Sar's side and soon Lon Nol's government controlled only the cities.

Related Topics:
U.S. President - Richard Nixon - South Vietnam

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It has been argued that the Khmer Rouge may not have come to power without the destabilization of the Vietnam War, particularly of the American bombing campaigns to "clear out the Vietnamese sanctuaries" in Cambodia. William Shawcross argued this point in his 1979 book Sideshow.

Related Topics:
Vietnam War - 1979

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When the U.S. left Vietnam in 1973 the Viet Cong left Cambodia, but the Khmer Rouge continued to fight. Unable to maintain any sort of control over the country, Lon Nol's government soon collapsed. On April 17, 1975, the Communist Party of Kampuchea took Phnom Penh and Lon Nol fled to the United States of America. Less than one month later, on May 12, 1975, Khmer Rouge naval forces operating in Cambodian territorial waters seized the U.S. merchant ship S.S. Mayaguez, the last American merchant ship to leave Vietnam, precipitating the Mayaguez Crisis. Saloth Sar changed his name to Pol Pot around this time, apparently to remain obscure. Some say that this stood for "political potential," but there is no proof for this.

Related Topics:
1973 - April 17 - 1975 - Communist Party - Phnom Penh - United States of America - May 12 - Mayaguez Crisis

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Norodom Sihanouk was returned to power in 1975, but soon found himself side-lined by his more radical Communist colleagues, who had little interest in his plans of restoring the monarchy.

Related Topics:
1975 - Monarchy

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