Born Saloth Sar, but much better known as
Pol Pot 1925-
1998, he was a
Cambodian political leader. He was educated in
Paris,
France in the
1950s and returned to Cambodia in the
1960s to become a leader of the
communist Khmer Rouge. In
1975, after victory against the government of [Lon Nol]
? he proclaimed the
Democratic Republic of Kampuchea and became its Prime Minister (
1976-
1979).
Under his rule there was an attempt to transform Cambodia into a classless agrarian society and many Cambodians found death by execution and forced labour in the "Killing Fields". Vietnam invaded the country in 1978 and forced the Khmer Rouge to retreat into the Cambodian jungle. In 1985 he officially resigned but continued to lead the Khmer Rouge.
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