Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity | Pol Pot

[MAY 19, 1925–APRIL 15, 1998]

Cambodian leader of that country's underground communist party, Khmer Rouge, from 1962; became head of the genocidal regime of Democratic Kampuchea (DK) in 1975 and ruled until his overthrow in early 1979

Pol Pot was born Saloth Sar, in Kompong Thom province, on May 19, 1925 (or 1928). His father, Phen Saloth, owned twelve hectares of land, and had connections at Cambodia's court. Sar's sister was a consort of King Monivong. From age six, Sar lived in Phnom Penh with his brother Suong, a palace protocol officer. He spent a year in the royal Buddhist monastery, and six years in an elite Catholic school. Phnom Penh's inhabitants were mostly Chinese traders and Vietnamese workers. Sar's upbringing was strict, and he had little or no contact with Khmer vernacular culture.

In 1948 Sar received a scholarship to study radioelectricity in Paris (at École Française de radioélectricité)....