Communist Party of Kampuchea
Communist Party of Kampuchea បក្សកុម្មុយនីស្តកម្ពុជា | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | CPK |
| General Secretary | Pol Pot |
| Spokesperson | Khieu Samphan |
| Deputy secretary | Nuon Chea |
| Founded | 30 September 1960 (as separate party) |
| Dissolved | 6 December 1981 |
| Split from | Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party |
| Succeeded by | Party of Democratic Kampuchea |
| Headquarters | Phnom Penh |
| Newspaper | Tung Padevat |
| Youth wing | Communist Youth League of Kampuchea |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Anthem | "The Internationale" |
| Party flag | |
The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), also known as the Khmer Communist Party, was a communist party in Kampuchea. Its leader was Pol Pot, and its members were generally known as the Khmer Rouge. 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 led by the Pol Pot faction and the latter aligned with the Soviet Union which the Pol Pot faction denounced as revisionist. 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.
The party operated underground for most of its existence, and it took control of the country in April 1975, establishing the state known as Democratic Kampuchea. The party retained control until 1979 when the intervention of Vietnamese military forces led to the establishment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. The party was officially dissolved in 1981, after which the Khmer Rouge remnants reorganized under the Party of Democratic Kampuchea, claiming to continue its legacy.