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

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic (, ; ) was a Cambodian state under the United States-backed military dictatorship of Marshal Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975. Its establishment was formally declared on 9 October 1970, following the 18 March 1970 coup d'état w ...

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 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 ...

during the

Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vietnam and China) against the government of the Ki ...

. 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. He is also the longest serving prime minister under the presidency of

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

for the

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 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 ...

from 1946 to 1952, studied in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from 1953 to 1955, then returned to Cambodia to work in the Royal Treasury. Long had two wives. He divorced his first wife and he married his second wife one year later. He and his second wife were executed by the

immediately after the fall of

Personal life

Long Boret was the author of a Khmer film called "Sea of Tears" (សមុទ្រទឹកភ្នែក). Long's children are still alive today, some are in

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 ...

and some in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. His second wife's eldest child is serving as a judge in Cambodia.

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 Norodom Sihanouk (; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a member of the House of Norodom, Cambodian royal house who led the country as Monarchy of Cambodia, King, List of heads of state of Cambodia, Chief of State and Prime Minister of Cambodi ...

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 In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from 1972 to 1973.

Prime Minister of Cambodia

On 9 December 1973, he succeeded In Tam to become

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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

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

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, 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 estim ...

with representatives of the

Arrest and execution

Long Boret remained in office until the

captured Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975. US Ambassador John Gunther Dean 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, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

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.

General Sak Sutsakhan 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 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 Vietnam War, war in Indochina, including the Fall of Phnom Pen ...

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 escape and is now alive.

Long Boret was last seen by Jon Swain, Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran outside the French Embassy. Swain reported:

...a black
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
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 Sisowath Sirik Matak were executed by

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

.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, 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