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Khieu Samphan is a former Cambodian communist politician who was the president of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as Cambodia's head of state and was one of the most powerful officials in the Khmer Rouge movement, though Pol Pot remained the General Secretary (highest official) in the party. Khieu Samphan is the second oldest living former Khmer Rouge leader, alongside Nuon Chea. On August 7, 2014, they received life sentences for crimes against humanity during the Cambodian Genocide.