Sơn Ngọc Minh ( km, សឺន ង៉ុកមិញ; 1920 – 22 December 1972), also known as Achar Mean (), was a

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

n '' achar'' and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

whose first notable career achievement was in 1950 when he was appointed the head of provisional revolutionary government of the

United Issarak Front The United Issarak Front (in km, សមាគមខ្មែរឥស្សរៈ, ''Samakhum Khmer Issarak'', lit. 'Khmer Issarak Front') was a Cambodian anti-colonial movement 1950–1954,Kiernan, Ben. ''How Pol Pot Came to Power''. London: ...

organised at Hồng Dân. Among his Vietnamese friends, he was known as ''Phạm Văn Hua''.

Biography

Son Ngoc Minh was born in 1920 at Trà Vinh Province (present-day

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 ...

) during the French colonial period to an ethnic Khmer father and a Vietnamese mother.Dommen (2001), p. 181 He became a Buddhist lay preacher (''Achar''). During the

Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

, he was recruited by Vietnamese communists (

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

) to serve as President of a newly formed Cambodian People's Liberation Committee (CPLC) in

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the cou ...

. Minh had been born in a Khmer district of southern Vietnam of mixed Khmer-Vietnamese parentage, which meant he was the nearest the Vietnamese had to an authentic Khmer revolutionary. His ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

'' was intended to capitalise on the popularity of Sihanouk's banished rival,

Son Ngoc Thanh Sơn Ngọc Thành ( km, សឺង ង៉ុកថាញ់; 7 December 1908 – 8 August 1977) was a Cambodian nationalist and republican politician, with a long history as a rebel and (for brief periods) a government minister. Early li ...

, then still languishing in exile in France. Son Ngoc Minh was the leader of the first nationwide congress of the leftist

Khmer Issarak The Khmer Issarak ( km, ខ្មែរឥស្សរៈ, or 'Independent Khmer') was a "loosely structured" anti- French and anti-colonial independence movement. The movement has been labelled as “amorphous”. The Issarak was ...

groups, which founded the

. In 1950, he formally declared Cambodia's independence after claiming that the UIF controlled one third of the country.Kiernan, B. ''How Pol Pot came to power'', Yale UP, 2004, p. 80 Along with Tou Samouth, Minh founded the

Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ...

(KPRP) in 1951. After the

Geneva Agreements The Geneva Conference, intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War, was a conference involving several nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 April to 20 July 1954. The part o ...

and the end of the

First Indochina war The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

, Son Ngoc Minh and many Khmer Issarak officials left Cambodia for

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

. Minh remained a senior figure in the Party, albeit largely operating from

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

in North Vietnam, until 1972, when at the request of

Ieng Sary 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. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea le ...

he was sent to hospital in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

to be treated for high blood pressure. Minh died in Beijing on 22 December.Kiernan, p. 360 His death further lessened the influence of the Hanoi-trained communists on 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 ...

, correspondingly increasing the power of the hardline Party 'Centre' 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 ...

References

Bibliography

* Dommen, Arthur J.; ''The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans: Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam'',

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, 2001, * Tyner, James A.; ''The Killing of Cambodia: Geography, Genocide and the Unmaking of Space'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008 1920 births 1972 deaths Cambodian people of Vietnamese descent Communist Party of Kampuchea politicians Khmer Krom people People from Trà Vinh province Cambodian communists Expatriates in Vietnam {{Cambodia-politician-stub