Appointed Prime Minister
Pen Sovan is appointed Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Kampuchea
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1981 in Kampuchea
Explore 13 historical events and records for Kampuchea in 1981.
Historical records for Kampuchea in 1981
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 13 of 13 unique records.
13Unique records
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13Named events on this page
5Named people on this page
2Places on this page
June
State Council Presidency
Heng Samrin becomes President of the Council of State
Council of Ministers Lead
Pen Sovan begins leading the Council of Ministers
New State Structure
Council of State replaces the earlier revolutionary council framework
July
Government Programme
Pen Sovan's government begins reconstruction under the PRK
August
Party and State Role
Pen Sovan combines senior party status with the prime ministership
December
Premiership Crisis
Pen Sovan's position weakens before his removal from office
Acting PM Appointed
Chan Sy becomes Acting Prime Minister after Pen Sovan's removal
Party Leadership Consolidated
Heng Samrin consolidates senior state and party leadership after Pen Sovan's removal
Removed as Prime Minister
Pen Sovan is removed from the prime ministership after a short term
Party Renamed
Communist Party of Kampuchea renamed Party of Democratic Kampuchea
Other events (month unknown)
Chairman
Appointed Chairman of the Council of Minister's
National Army of Democratic Kampuchea
The party is dissolved, and substituted by the Party of Democratic Kampuchea
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.