Heng Samrin

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Sâmdech (i.e. "His Excellency") Heng Samrin (born 1934) is a Cambodian Communist politician.

Heng was born in Prey Veng province, Cambodia. He became a member of the Khmer Rouge communist movement led by Pol Pot, and became a political commisar and army division commander when the Khmer Rouge took over the government in 1975. In 1978, he defected from the Khmer Rouge, which was backed by China, and fled to Vietnam. Later that year, Heng returned to Cambodia, leading a rebellion which was backed by Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

The Khmer Rouge collapsed in 1979, and Heng set up a new Communist government. Though the Khmer Rouge were most notable for their human rights violations, Heng's government also committed many atrocities, and refused to accept offers of humanitarian aid until late in 1979. He became chairman of the People's Revolutionary Council in 1979. In 1981 he became chairman of the Council of State and secretary-general of the People's Revolutionary Party. Though at first he was the effective leader of the government, he quickly lost much of his power when the more moderate Hun Sen became Prime Minister in 1985. As Vietnamese influence declined, Heng began losing his posts, including the post of secretary-general in 1991 and chairman of the council of state in 1992. When King Norodom Sihanouk was restored in 1993, Heng was given the honorary title of Sâmdech, and was made honorary chairman of Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party.