Ieng Thirith is a former member of the Khmer Rouge Central Committee. Her original name is Khieu Thirith. Thirith was the Minister of Social Action under the Khmer Roge regime. Khieu Ponnary (1920 - 1 July 2003) was the first wife of Pol Pot; sister of Khieu Thirith and sister-in-law to Ieng Sary. She died in Pailin on July 1; 2003.

The Khmer Rouge; or Communist Party of Kampuchea; ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979; led by Pol Pot; Nuon Chea; Ieng Sary; Son Sen and Khieu Samphan. It is remembered primarily for its brutality and policy of social engineering which resulted in millions of deaths. Its attempts at agricultural reform led to widespread famine; while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency; even in the supply of medicine; led to the deaths of thousands from treatable diseases (such as malaria). Brutal and arbitrary executions and torture carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements; or during purges of its own ranks between 1976 and 1978; are considered to have constituted a genocide. Several former Khmer Rouge cadres are currently on trial for war crimes in Phnom Penh.