Biography of Pol Pot, Cambodian Dictator Pol Pot (born Saloth Sar; May 19, 1925–April 15, 1998) was a Cambodian dictator. As the head of the Khmer Rouge, he oversaw an unprecedented and extremely brutal attempt to remove Cambodia from the modern world and establish an agrarian utopia. While attempting to create this utopia, Pol Pot initiated the Cambodian genocide, which lasted from 1975 to 1979 and caused the deaths of at least 1.5 million Cambodians. Fast Facts: Pol Pot Known For: As the leader of the revolutionary Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot oversaw the Cambodian genocide.Also Known As: Saloth SarBorn: May 19, 1925 in Prek Sbauv, CambodiaParents: Loth Sar and Sok NemDied: April 15, 1998 in Anlong Veng, CambodiaSpouse(s): Khieu Ponnary (m. 1956–1979), Mea Son (m. 1986–1998)Children: Sar Patchata Early Life Pol Pot was born Saloth Sar on May 19, 1928, in the fishing village of Prek Sbauk, Kampong Thom province, in what was then French Indochina (now Cambodia). His family, of Chinese-Khmer descent, was moderately well-to-do.
