Communist Party of Kampuchea
The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), also known as the Khmer Communist Party, was a communist party in Cambodia. Its leader was Pol Pot, and its members were generally known as the Khmer Rouge (Red Khmer). Originally founded in 1951, the party was split into pro-Chinese and pro-Soviet factions as a result of the Sino–Soviet split with the former being the Pol Pot faction, and the latter adopting a more revisionist approach to Marxism. As such, it claimed that 30 September 1960 was its founding date; it was named the Workers' Party of Kampuchea before it was renamed the Communist Party in 1966.
Communist Party of Kampuchea បក្សកុម្មុយនីស្តកម្ពុជា | |
|---|---|
| General Secretary | Pol Pot |
| Deputy Secretary | Nuon Chea |
| Founded | 28 June 1951 (as KPRP) 30 September 1960 (as separate party) |
| Dissolved | 6 December 1981 |
| Split from | Indochinese Communist Party |
| Succeeded by | Party of Democratic Kampuchea |
| Newspaper | Tung Padevat |
| Youth wing | Communist Youth League of Kampuchea |
| Ideology | Communism Maoism Agrarian socialism Anti-revisionism Khmer nationalism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Colors | Red |
| Party flag | |
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The party operated underground during most of its existence, and it took control of the country in April 1975 and established the state known as Democratic Kampuchea. The party lost power in 1979 with the establishment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea following the intervention of Vietnamese military forces. The party was officially dissolved in 1981, with the Party of Democratic Kampuchea claiming its legacy.