Pol Pot
Leader of the Khmer Rouge and Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea · 1925–1998
Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 as Democratic Kampuchea. His regime emptied the cities, abolished money and sought an agrarian communist society; an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people died from executions, forced labour, starvation and disease.
How close are you? Take the test →Position on the 12 axes
Estimated from their documented words and actions. A simplification, not a verdict.
The regime was run by a small secret party centre known as Angkar with total central control.
He ruled without elections or any accountability through a secretive party leadership.
The regime executed perceived enemies en masse, including at Tuol Sleng prison and the "killing fields."
He rejected foreign influence and broke with Vietnam, isolating Cambodia from the world.
He attacked Vietnamese border areas, provoking the 1978 Vietnamese invasion.
The regime persecuted and killed ethnic Vietnamese and Cham Muslim minorities.
He abolished money, markets and private property entirely.
All labour and production were directed by the state through agricultural cooperatives.
He sought complete economic autarky and cut off almost all foreign trade.
The regime banned religion, destroyed temples and killed Buddhist monks.
He tried to erase all tradition and family life with a "Year Zero," but the goal was a primitive agrarian order rather than inclusion.
He emptied the cities and rejected modern medicine, industry and education in favour of rural agrarian labour.