Ieng Sary was born and raised among the Cambodian minority of Cochinchina. His father, Kim Ream, was a prosperous landowner. When Ream died, Sary, still a young boy, was sent to live with relatives in the Cambodian province of Prey Veng. He was given the name Ieng Sary, which sounded more Khmer than his real name, Kim Trang. He also had his birth date altered to fall within the age limits set by the French for enrollment in primary school. By 1942 or 1943, having done exceptionally well as a student, he went to Phnom Penh for further education. In 1945 Sary was awarded a scholarship at the Lycée Sisowath. He soon attracted attention for his intellectual powers and his interest in political action. In the turbulence of 1945-1946, before Saloth Sar met him, Sary had become a political animal. Like many of Sar’s close associates over the years, he made a stronger impression on people than Saloth Sar did. He was the more forthcoming of the two and made friends more easily. Being more abrasive than Sar, he also made more enemies.22

Working for the Democrats

Under the agreement reached between Monireth and the French in early 1946, several political parties soon appeared on the Cambodian scene. Only the Democratic party (Kanakpak procheaneathipdei) offered an innovative program and had roots in the nationalist traditions of Nagara Vatta and the monks’ demonstration. Those who supported the party included monks and former monks, teachers, young civil servants, and most graduates of and senior students at the Lycée Sisowath (for example, Ieng Sary). The party was the first political organization in Cambodia to be oriented toward the future and away from the status quo. Other more-conservative parties, one secretly financed by the French, also came into being at this time. They attracted much less support.

The leader of the Democrats, Prince Sisowath Yuthevong, had just returned home after fifteen years in France. He impressed and inspired nearly everyone who met him. He came equipped with doctorates in mathematics and astronomy and with connections to the French Socialist party. Furthermore, his long absence from Cambodia and his estrangement from palace intrigue meant that he was not entangled like so many of his royal cousins in nets of patronage, protocol, and obligation. To the timidity and stagnation of Cambodian politics in 1946, Yuthevong brought new insights and hope.23 The first test of the Democrats’ popularity came in September 1946, when the party fielded candidates for a consultative assembly that was to approve the constitution being drafted. The Democrats won fifty of the sixty-seven seats; the French-sponsored Liberals gained fourteen; the remaining three were won by independents.