The Khmer Rouge was the name popularly given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name had originally been used in the 1950s by Norodom Sihanouk as a blanket term for the Cambodian left.
Pol Pot was a Cambodian revolutionary and politician who served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea from 1963 to 1981. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Khmer nationalist, he led the Khmer Rouge group from 1963 until 1997. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea.
Norodom Sihanouk was a Cambodian royal, politician, composer and filmmaker who was twice King and numerous times Prime Minister of Cambodia. In Cambodia, he is also known as Samdech Euv. Until the early years of his rule, his family ruled over the French Protectorate of Cambodia.
Hun Sen is a Cambodian politician and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and Member of Parliament (MP) for Kandal. He has served as Prime Minister since 1985, making him the world's second longest-serving prime minister, the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia and one of the longest-serving leaders in the world. From 1979 to 1986 and again from 1987 to 1990, Hun Sen also served as Cambodia's foreign minister. His full honorary title is Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen. Born Hun Bunal, he changed his name to Hun Sen in 1972 two years after joining the Khmer Rouge.
The Candlelight Party is a personalist liberal party in Cambodia. The party was a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, Liberal International, and the Alliance of Democrats.
Norodom Ranariddh is a Cambodian royal politician and law academic. He is the second son of Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and a half-brother of the current king, Norodom Sihamoni. Ranariddh is the president of FUNCINPEC, a Cambodian royalist party. He was also the First Prime Minister of Cambodia following the restoration of the monarchy, serving between 1993 and 1997, and subsequently as the President of the National Assembly between 1998 and 2006.
Khieu Samphan is a former Cambodian communist politician who was the chairman of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as Cambodia's head of state and was one of the most powerful officials in the Khmer Rouge movement, although Pol Pot remained the General Secretary in the party. Khieu Samphan is the second oldest living former Khmer Rouge leader, alongside Nuon Chea. On 7 August 2014, they were convicted and received life sentences for crimes against humanity during the Cambodian Genocide, and a further trial found him guilty of genocide in 2018.
The Cambodian Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than a million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War (1970–1975). The mass killings are widely regarded as part of a broad state-sponsored genocide.
Sam Rainsy is a Cambodian activist and politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the president of the Cambodia National Rescue Movement (CNRM), launched in January 2018. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kampong Cham, first from 1998 until 2005, then from 2008 to 2011, and finally from 2014 until 2015; he has been revoked of parliamentary immunity three times. He was previously the MP for Siem Reap from 1993 until 1995 when he was expelled from the Constituent Assembly. A co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Rainsy was previously a member of the royalist Funcinpec Party and served as the Minister of Economy and Finance during Norodom Ranariddh's administration from 1993 until his sacking in 1994. In June 1995, he was expelled from the National Assembly, and formed the Khmer Nation Party (KNP), which changed its name before the 1998 elections to the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) to avoid registration issues. From 2000 to 2002 and again from 2012 to 2014, Rainsy was the chairperson of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.
Nuon Chea, also known as Long Bunruot or Rungloet Laodi, is a Cambodian former politician who was the chief ideologist of the Khmer Rouge. He also served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea.
Kem Sokha is a Cambodian politician and activist who most recently served as the President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). He served as the Minority Leader, the highest ranking opposition parliamentarian, of the National Assembly from December 2016 to January 2017, and previously as the First Vice President of the National Assembly from August 2014 to October 2015. He represented Kampong Cham as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 2008 to 2017. From 2007 to 2012, Sokha was the leader of the Human Rights Party, which he founded.
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia is the head of government of Cambodia. The prime minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet and leads the executive branch of the Royal Cambodian Government. The prime minister is required to be a member of parliament, and is appointed by the monarch for a term of five years. Since 1945, 36 individuals have served as prime minister.
The National Assembly is one of the two houses (chambers) of the Parliament of Cambodia. It is referred to as the lower house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house.
Chan Sy, also spelt Chan Si, was a Cambodian politician. He became Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Kampuchea from 1982 to 1984.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, commonly known as the Cambodia Tribunal or Khmer Rouge Tribunal (សាលាក្ដីខ្មែរក្រហម), is a court established to try the most senior responsible members of the Khmer Rouge for alleged violations of international law and serious crimes perpetrated during the Cambodian genocide. Although it is a national court, it was established as part of an agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the United Nations, and its members include both local and foreign judges. It is considered a hybrid court, as the ECCC was created by the government in conjunction with the UN, but remains independent of them, with trials held in Cambodia using Cambodian and international staff. The Cambodian court invites international participation in order to apply international standards.
The Cambodian–Thai border dispute began in June 2008 as the latest round of a century-long dispute between Cambodia and Thailand involving the area surrounding the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple, in the Dângrêk Mountains between the Choam Khsant district in the Preah Vihear Province of northern Cambodia and the Kantharalak district (amphoe) in Sisaket Province of northeastern Thailand.
Chan Vathanaka, simply known as CV11, is a Cambodian professional footballer who plays as a forward for PKNS in the Liga Super.
Anti-government protests were ongoing in Cambodia from July 2013 to July 2014. Popular demonstrations in Phnom Penh have taken place against the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, triggered by widespread allegations of electoral fraud during the Cambodian general election of 2013. Demands to raise the minimum wage to $160 a month and resentment at Vietnamese influence in Cambodia have also contributed to the protests. The main opposition party refused to participate in parliament after the elections, and major demonstrations took place throughout December 2013. A government crackdown in January 2014 led to the deaths of 4 people and the clearing of the main protest camp.
