Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly

The assembly held its first and only plenary session on 11 to 13 April, appointing the State Presidium, consisting of a president, a first vice president, and a second vice president, as well elected the "administration", the official government of Democratic Kampuchea, and the Standing Committee, due to represent the assembly when not gathered. The members of the KPRA were never elected; the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) appointed the chairman and other high officials both to it and to the State Praesidium. Plans for elections of members were discussed, but the 250 members of the KPRA were in fact appointed by the upper echelon of the CPK.^[4][5]

KPRA held no real legislative power. Unlike other political systems where legislative bodies could nominally pass laws or act as forums for debate, the KPRA was a tool for legitimizing decisions made by the ruling Khmer Rouge. All major policy decisions were orchestrated by CPK and by the Standing Committee led by Pol Pot, which wielded ultimate power. The KPRA's main function was to support these decisions without having any independent authority.^[2]

The assembly was effectively abolished when the Vietnamese captured Phnom Penh on 7 January 1979, establishing the People's Republic of Kampuchea.^[2][6]

Presidents of the Standing Committee of the Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly:

• Nuon Chea, 13 April 1976 – 7 January 1979