Democratic Kampuchea

The state of Kampuchea (Khmer: កម្ពុជា; Kâmpŭchéa; French: Kampuchéa), officially Democratic Kampuchea[3](DK; Khmer: កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ; Kâmpŭchéa Prâcheathippadey; French: Kampuchéa démocratique), existed between 1975 and 1979 in present-day Cambodia. The state was controlled by the Khmer Rouge (KR) and was founded when KR forces defeated the Khmer Republic of Lon Nol in 1975.

Between 1975 and 1979, the state and its ruling Khmer Rouge regime was responsible for the deaths of millions of Cambodians through forced labour and genocide. The KR lost control of most Cambodian territory to Vietnamese occupation. From 1979 to 1982, Democratic Kampuchea survived as a rump state supported by China. In June 1982, the Khmer Rouge formed the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea with two non-communist guerilla factions, which retained international recognition. The state was renamed Cambodia in 1990 in the run up to the UN-sponsored 1991 Paris Peace Accords.