Nuon Chea nació el 7 de julio de 1926 en Voat Kor, Battambang, Cambodia. Estuvo casado con Ly Kim Seng. Murió el 4 de agosto de 2019 en Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
He was the chief ideologist of the Khmer Rouge and called Brother Number Two, second only to Pol Pot. He was condemned in 2007 for crimes against humanity.
