Long Boret ( km, ឡុង បូរ៉េត, ; 3 January 1933 – 17 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician who served as the last

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of the Khmer Republic from 26 December 1973, to 17 April 1975. Highly regarded for his honesty, he tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a peace settlement with the Khmer Rouge during the

Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vi ...

. He was later arrested by the Khmer Rouge and executed. He is one of two prime ministers to die in office, the other being

Chan Sy Chan Sy, also spelt Chan Si, ( km, ចាន់ ស៊ី; 1932 – 26 December 1984) was a Cambodian politician who served as the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Kampuchea from 1982 until his death in 1984. Biography Chan Sy was ...

Early life

Long was born in Chbar Ampéou near Phnom Penh in Kandal Province, Cambodia, the son of Ly Long Meas and Neang Ieng Buth. He attended the prestigious

Lycée Sisowath Lycée Sisowath ( km, វិទ្យាល័យព្រះស៊ីសុវត្ថិ; also Sisowath High School) is a secondary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The school was founded in 1873 as a collège (middle school) and became a ly ...

in Phnom Penh from 1946 to 1952, studied in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

from 1953 to 1955, then returned to Cambodia to work in the Royal Treasury.

Personal life

Long Boreth was the author of a Khmer film សមុទ្រទឹកភ្នែក (sea of tears).

Political career

In 1958 he was elected to parliament as MP for Stung Treng Province, and was the youngest MP in parliament. He served briefly in 1958 as Deputy Secretary of State for Labour and Social Action and was re-elected to Parliament in 1962. During this period he became known as the author of romance stories, many of which were serialized in newspapers. He was appointed State Secretary for Finance but he publicly opposed the decision in November 1963 by Norodom Sihanouk to nationalize banks and foreign trade, and was forced to resign. He retained his parliamentary seat in the 1966 elections. He was the Information Minister from 1971 to 1972 and the Foreign Minister from 1972 to 1973.

Prime Minister of Cambodia

On 9 December 1973, he succeeded

In Tam In Tam ( km, អ៊ិន តាំ ; 22 September 19161 April 2006) was a Cambodian politician who once served as the prime minister of the Khmer Republic. He served in that position from 6 May 1973 to 9 December 1973, and had a long career in ...

to become

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of Cambodia. On 2 April 1974, he became one of four members of an executive board composed, in addition to Long Boret, of

Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71), as well as serving repeatedly as defence min ...

Sisowath Sirik Matak Sisowath Sirik Matak ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ សិរិមតៈ; 22 January 191421 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and member of the Cambodian royal family, under the House of Sisowath. Sirik Matak was mainly notable for h ...

and General Sosthene Fernandez. On 8 April 1975, he attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate a peace settlement in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

with representatives of the Khmer Rouge.

Arrest and execution

Long Boret remained in office until the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975.

US Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S ...

John Gunther Dean John Gunther Dean (February 24, 1926 – June 6, 2019) was an American diplomat. From 1974–1988, he served as the United States ambassador to five nations under four American presidents. Early years Dean was born as Gunther Dienstfertig in B ...

recalls that, unlike many government officials who fled Phnom Penh, Long chose to remain behind despite being on a death list announced from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

by Norodom Sihanouk:

Long Boret refused to be evacuated. He was a competent, able man, much younger than Lon Nol or Sirik Matak. When I personally went to see him on April 12, the very morning of our evacuation, to ask him to take his wife and himself and his young children out of Phnom Penh because I feared for his safety, he thanked me but aid hethought his life was not in danger.Interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy on September 6, 2000: John Gunther Dean on his experience as US Ambassador to Cambodia, 1974-75, p. 27.
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General

Sak Sutsakhan General Sak Sutsakhan ( km, សក់ ស៊ុតសាខន; 8 February 1928Some sources give 2 August. – 29 April 1994) was a Cambodian politician and soldier who had a long career in the country's politics. He was the last Head of State of ...

recalled that on the morning of 17 April Long decided to take his family and leave the city. Both General Sak and the journalist

Jon Swain Jon (John) Anketell Brewer Swain (born 1948) is a British journalist and writer. Swain's book ''River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam '' chronicles his experiences from 1970 to 1975 during the war in Indochina, including the fall of Cambodia. Ea ...

Swain J. ''River of Time.'' London: Heinemann, 1995, p. 135. reported that Long and his family were unable to board the last helicopter flying out of the city. In his memoir, ''Danger Zones,'' Ambassador Dean stated that:

Long Boret had stayed in Cambodia, thinking that he could have some kind of dialogue with the Khmer Rouge. When he realized that that was impossible, he raced to the airport with his family in a jeep to try and get out of the country. When they arrived at the airport, they got on a helicopter with some military officers. One officer brutally shoved him off the helicopter. The copter took off. The Khmer Rouge captured Long Boret and his wife and killed them all. Boret’s son managed to escaped and is now alive.

Long Boret was last seen by Jon Swain,

Sydney Schanberg Sydney Hillel Schanberg (January 17, 1934 July 9, 2016) was an American journalist who was best known for his coverage of the war in Cambodia. He was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two George Polk awards, two Overseas Press Club awards, a ...

and

Dith Pran Dith Pran ( km, ឌិត ប្រន; 23 September 1942 – 30 March 2008) was a Cambodian photojournalist. He was a refugee and survivor of the Cambodian genocide and the subject of the film '' The Killing Fields'' (1984). Early life D ...

outside the French Embassy. Swain reported:

...a black Citroën pulled up and Long Boret got out, his eyes puffy and red, his face empty of expression. When we asked him how he was, he muttered a short, incoherent sentence. His thoughts were elsewhere. Dazed, legs wobbling, he surrendered to the Khmer Rouge and joined the line of prisoners. I could not fail to admire his courage.

Schanberg gave a more detailed description of the scene:

Long Boret arrives in a car driven by his wife...he looks wretched. His eyes are puffed. He stares at the ground. He...knows what faces him. I want to get away but I feel I must say something to him, and Pran understands. I take Long Boret's hands and tell him what a brave thing he has done for his country and that I admire him for it. Pran takes his hands too...Long Boret tries to respond but cannot. Finally he mumbles 'Thank you.' And we must leave him.

Soon after, Koy Thuon, a Khmer Rouge deputy front commander, organized the "Committee for Wiping Out Enemies" at the Hotel Monorom (). Its first action was ordering the immediate execution of Lon Nol and other leading government figures. Long Boret was executed on the grounds of the Cercle Sportif in Phnom Penh. Khmer Rouge Radio subsequently reported that he had been beheaded but other reports indicate that he and

were executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

.Jackson KD. Cambodia, 1975-1978: ''Rendezvous with Death.'' Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989, p. 184.

Key dates

9 Dec. 1973 – Long Boret becomes Prime Minister of the Khmer Republic: 9 Dec. 1973—17 April 1975 1 April 1974 – The High Political Council that dissolved a day earlier was replaced by a four-man executive council:

Sirik Matak Sisowath Sirik Matak ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ សិរិមតៈ; 22 January 191421 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and member of the Cambodian royal family, under the House of Sisowath. Sirik Matak was mainly notable for h ...

, Long Boret and General Sosthene Fernandez. 17 June 1974 – Long Boret forms a new 16-member Cabinet. 11 March 1975 – President Lon Nol orders Prime Minister Long Boret to form a new cabinet and eliminates the post of commander-in-chief of the armed forces. 8 April 1975 – PM Long Boret holds unsuccessful peace talks with Khmer Rouge representatives in Bangkok. 17 April 1975 – Long Boret surrenders to the Khmer Rouge in front of the French Embassy and is executed the same day.

References

External links

LA CONSTRUCTION DU CAMBODGE EN DEBAT (1954-1959)Interview with John Gunther Dean on his experience as US Ambassador to Cambodia, 1974-75.BBC News, "US Pulls Out of Cambodia," April 12, 1975.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Boret 20th-century Cambodian politicians Khmer Republic Executed prime ministers People of the Vietnam War People from Kandal province 1975 deaths Executed Cambodian people People executed by the Khmer Rouge 1933 births Prime Ministers of Cambodia Foreign ministers of Cambodia Cambodian anti-communists Cambodian republicans