Ieng Sary ( km, អៀង សារី; 24 October 1925 – 14 March 2013) was a Cambodian politician who was the co-founder and senior member of the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
. He was a member of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea led by
Pol Pot
Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
and served in the 1975–79 government of
Democratic Kampuchea
Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...
as
foreign minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
and
deputy prime minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
. He was known as "Brother Number Three" as he was third in command after Pol Pot and
Nuon Chea
Nuon Chea ( km, នួន ជា; born Lao Kim Lorn; 7 July 1926 – 4 August 2019), also known as Long Bunruot ( km, ឡុង ប៊ុនរត្ន) or Rungloet Laodi ( th, รุ่งเลิศ เหล่าดี), was a Cambodian co ...
. His wife,
Ieng Thirith (née Khieu), served in the Khmer Rouge government as social affairs minister. Ieng Sary was arrested in 2007 and was charged with
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
but died of
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
before the case against him could be brought to a verdict.
Early years
Sary was born in Nhan Hoa village, which is located in the subdistrict of Luong Hoa (known as Loeung Va in Khmer),
Châu Thành District, Trà Vinh Province, southern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
in 1925. His father, Kim Riem was a
Khmer Krom
The ''Khmer Krom'' ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរក្រោម, , , lit. 'Lower Khmers' or 'Southern Khmers'; vi, người Khơ-me Crộm, người Khmer Nam Bộ, người Khmer Việt Nam, người Việt gốc Miên (used before 19 ...
while his mother Tran Thi Loi was both
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
mix as confirmed by the Cambodian Tribunal who moved back to Vietnam with her parents when she was a little girl. Sary changed his name from the Vietnamese Kim Trang when he joined the Khmer Rouge. He was the brother-in-law by marriage of the Khmer Rouge leader
Pol Pot
Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
(real name: Saloth Sar). Sary and Saloth Sar studied at
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
's
Lycée Sisowath
Lycée Sisowath ( km, វិទ្យាល័យព្រះស៊ីសុវត្ថិ; also Sisowath High School) is a secondary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The school was founded in 1873 as a collège (middle school) and became a ly ...
where their future wives, the sisters
Khieu Thirith and
Khieu Ponnary
Khieu Ponnary ( km, ខៀវ ពណ្ណារី, 3 February 1920 – 1 July 2003) was the first wife of Pol Pot, sister of Khieu Thirith and sister-in-law to Ieng Sary.
Biography
Khieu Ponnary was born on 3 February 1920 in Battambang Pro ...
also studied. Before leaving Cambodia to study in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Sary was engaged to Khieu Thirith.
[
Sary and Saloth Sar also studied together in Paris. Whilst there, Sary rented an apartment in the Latin Quarter, a hotbed of student radicalism. He and Saloth Sar met with French communist intellectuals, and formed their own cell of Cambodian communists.
Sary and Khieu Thirith married in the town hall of ]Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
' 15th arrondissement
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...
in the winter of 1951. Thirith took her husband's name, becoming Ieng Thirith.
Mid-life
After returning to Cambodia, he was inducted into the Central Committee
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
of the Workers Party of Kampuchea in September 1960.
After the fall of the Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...
on 17 April 1975, Sary made personal appeals to expatriates to help rebuild Cambodia. However, when they returned to Cambodia, they were arrested on arrival, and thrown into brutal detention centers.BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
,
Top Khmer Rouge diplomat in court
'. 30 June 2008 He took the nickname "Brother number 3" and, as head of diplomacy, he would be the only dignitary not to cultivate his secret identity.
He welcomed foreign visitors and was also responsible for purges and arrests in the government's ministries. At the end of 1977, before the United Nations, he rejected accusations from Cambodian refugees who wanted to open a discussion with the Khmer Rouge government. Together with Pol Pot, Ieng Sary was sentenced to death in-absentia by the People's Revolutionary Tribunal after the Democratic Khmer regime of Khmer Rouge was overthrown by Vietnam in 1979.
King Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...
officially pardoned Ieng Sary in 1996 after his defection from Pol Pot. He was the founder of the Democratic National Union Movement The Democratic National Union Movement (DNUM) ( km, ចលនាសហភាពជាតិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ) was a Cambodian political party founded after senior Khmer Rouge official Ieng Sary's defection from the Cambodian ...
, a split from the Cambodian National Unity Party
The Cambodian National Unity Party ( km, គណបក្សសាមគ្គីជាតិកម្ពុជា) was a political party set up by the Khmer Rouge on November 30, 1992 during the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia to ...
.
Arrest and trial
Ieng Sary, reportedly living in "an opulent Phnom Penh villa surrounded by security guards and barbed wire" was arrested on 12 November 2007 in Phnom Penh on an arrest warrant from the Cambodia Tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
. His wife, Ieng Thirith, was also arrested for crimes against humanity.
On 16 December 2009, the tribunal officially charged him with genocide for his involvement with the subjugation and murder of Vietnamese and Muslim minorities in Cambodia.
Death
Sary died in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
on 14 March 2013 at the age of 87, before the case against him could be brought to a verdict. He had heart problems for years as well as other ailments. He was taken from his holding cell at the special tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.
For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...
to a hospital on 4 March 2013 for what his lawyers said were gastrointestinal problem
Gastrointestinal diseases (abbrev. GI diseases or GI illnesses) refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum, and the accessory organs of digestion, the liver ...
s. Sary's body was transported to his home in Banteay Meanchey province. The body lay for seven days before being cremated. At the time of his death, Sary was on trial for his involvement in the Khmer Rouge. Elisabeth Simonneau Fort, a lawyer for the victims, said "For the victims, this death narrows the scope of the trial and limits their search for truth and justice".
See also
* Cambodian genocide
The Cambodian genocide ( km, របបប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍នៅកម្ពុជា) was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Communist Party of Kampuchea genera ...
* Cambodian Civil War
The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khme ...
References
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ieng, Sary
1925 births
2013 deaths
20th-century Cambodian politicians
Cambodian criminals
Cambodian revolutionaries
Cambodian communists
Cambodian socialists
Cambodian politicians of Chinese descent
Cambodian people of Vietnamese descent
Vietnamese people of Cambodian descent
Vietnamese people of Chinese descent
Cambodian expatriates in France
Cambodian prisoners and detainees
Communist Party of Kampuchea politicians
Deputy Prime Ministers of Cambodia
Foreign ministers of Cambodia
Hoa people
Cold War diplomats
Khmer Krom people
Khmer Rouge party members
French Communist Party members
People indicted by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
People from Trà Vinh province
Sciences Po alumni
Prisoners who died in Cambodian detention