Ieng Thirith (née Khieu; ; 10 March 1932 – 22 August 2015) was an influential intellectual and politician in the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

, although she was neither a member of the Khmer Rouge Standing Committee nor of the Central Committee. Ieng Thirith was the wife of Ieng Sary, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Democratic Kampuchea's Khmer Rouge regime. She served as Minister of Social Affairs from October 1975 until the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979. She was the sister of Khieu Ponnary, who was the first wife of

Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...

. She was arrested by the Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in November 2007 with her husband, Ieng Sary, on suspicion of

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

Early years

Born Khieu Thirith in northwestern

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

's Battambang Province, she came from a relatively wealthy and privileged family, and was the second daughter of a Cambodian judge who abandoned the family during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, running off to

Battambang Battambang (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang province and the List of cities and towns in Cambodia, third largest city in Cambodia. The city is situated on the Sangkae River, which winds its way through t ...

with a Cambodian princess. Thirith graduated from the Lycée Sisowath in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

, and while still in Cambodia she became engaged to Ieng Sary, who attended Lycée in the year above her. She went on to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with her sister, where she studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

, majoring in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

at the Sorbonne. She became the first Cambodian to achieve a degree in English literature. Thirith married Ieng Sary in the town hall of Paris' 15th arrondissement the summer of 1951 and took her husband's name, becoming Ieng Thirith. Her older sister, Khieu Ponnary, later became the wife of

. Together, the two sisters and their husbands later became known as "Cambodia's

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

", a reference to the radical group led by

Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and political figure. She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman of the Communis ...

(Chiang Ching), the widow/wife of Chinese communist leader Mao Tse-tung. She returned to her native Cambodia in 1957 and worked as a professor before founding a private English school in 1960.

During the Democratic Kampuchea regime

She was a senior member of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime. From 1975 to 1979, Thirith was Minister of Social Affairs and Action and Head of Democratic Kampuchea's Red Cross Society.

Later years

Thirith lived with her husband, Ieng Sary, in a luxurious villa on Street 21, in southern Phnom Penh. Until her arrest, she was rarely seen in public. Ieng-Thearith-in-court-VOA-khmer

By 2006, Ieng Thirith and her husband had retained foreign legal counsel to assist with their defence as the Cambodia Tribunal made progress with courtroom preparation and judge selection. She was arrested, along with ailing Ieng Sary, on 12 November 2007, at their home in Phnom Penh, after being indicted by the Cambodia Tribunal. She was arrested for

: "planning, direction, coordination and ordering of widespread purges ... and the unlawful killing or murder of staff members from within the Ministry of Social Affairs." On 17 November 2011, Thirith was ruled mentally unfit to stand trial, due to her severe case of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, and was ordered to be released. Prosecutors appealed against her release. On 13 December 2011, appeals judges reversed the ruling to release Thirith and ordered new medical exams to see how mentally fit she was to stand trial. In September 2012, the November 2011 ruling of her mental incompetence was put back into place, and she was released from prison. She died on 22 August 2015 at the age of 83 from complications of the disease.

References

* Philip Short. ''Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare.'' Henry Holt and Company, 2005.

External links

Photos
on afp.google.com
Cambodia Tribunal Monitor
{{Authority control 1932 births 2015 deaths People from Battambang province Cambodian communists Communist Party of Kampuchea politicians Cambodian prisoners and detainees People indicted by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal Prisoners and detainees of Cambodia People from Phnom Penh Deaths from dementia in Cambodia Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Cambodian politicians convicted of crimes Government ministers of Cambodia Women government ministers of Cambodia 20th-century Cambodian women politicians