Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk (នរោត្តម សីហនុ) was king of Cambodia twice, from 1941 to 1955 and from 1993 to 2004. Between his two reigns he led the country as prime minister and head of state, and he was a central figure in Cambodian politics for six decades.

Norodom Sihanouk in 1983

Historical figure details
Roles	King of Cambodia; Prime Minister; Head of State
Period	1941 to 2004
Born	October 31, 1922, Phnom Penh
Died	October 15, 2012, Beijing
Preceded by	Sisowath Monivong
Succeeded by	Norodom Sihamoni
Country	Cambodia

On this page

1. Early life and first reign
2. Independence
3. Sangkum years
4. Removal and exile
5. Return and second reign
6. Death
7. References

On this page

1. Early life and first reign
2. Independence
3. Sangkum years
4. Removal and exile
5. Return and second reign
6. Death
7. References

Early life and first reign

Sihanouk was born in Phnom Penh on October 31, 1922. His mother's father was King Sisowath Monivong. In 1941 the Crown Council chose Sihanouk, then 18, to succeed Monivong as king. Cambodia was a French protectorate, and the young king held little real power.

Independence

Near the end of the Second World War the Japanese, who occupied the region, pushed the king to declare Cambodia independent of France, and he did so in March 1945. French rule returned after the war. In June 1952 Sihanouk dismissed the elected government of the Democratic Party and took charge himself, promising independence within three years; The Cambodia Daily later described the move as a bloodless coup. In 1953 he traveled to France, Canada, the United States and Japan to argue his case abroad. Back home he called the country to arms in what he named his Royal Crusade for independence. France gave way, and Sihanouk declared full independence on November 9, 1953, the date marked each year as Independence Day.

Sangkum years

In January 1955 Sihanouk founded a political movement, the Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People's Socialist Community). On March 2, 1955, he gave up the throne in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit, so that he could take part in politics directly. He then served as prime minister and foreign minister. When his father died in April 1960, he became head of state that June without taking back the crown.

Abroad he kept Cambodia neutral. He let Vietnamese communist forces use bases in eastern Cambodia in return for a promise to respect its borders, and he turned down American aid. Britannica writes that Cambodia had about 15 years of uneasy peace and some prosperity under him, while much of Southeast Asia was at war. He was also a filmmaker and composer.

Removal and exile

In March 1970, while Sihanouk was abroad, the National Assembly voted to remove him as head of state, and General Lon Nol took over the government. The new government said the vote was lawful; in Britannica's account it was a coup that the United States supported. From Beijing, Sihanouk joined the Cambodian communists, the Khmer Rouge, as the head of a government-in-exile, a name he had himself given them in the 1960s.

After the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, Sihanouk came back to Cambodia and was kept under house arrest. In January 1979, as Vietnamese forces advanced, the Khmer Rouge released him to speak for their government at the United Nations. He later broke with them. From homes in Beijing and Pyongyang he led a coalition government-in-exile of three groups that fought the Vietnamese-backed government in Phnom Penh.

Return and second reign

Under the Paris Agreements of 1991, Sihanouk chaired the Supreme National Council, the body that held Cambodian sovereignty during the United Nations transition. After the election of May 1993, he signed the new constitution on September 24, 1993, and the Royal Council of the Throne chose him as king again. His son Norodom Ranariddh served as first prime minister until 1997.

Citing poor health, Sihanouk gave up the throne in October 2004. Another son, Norodom Sihamoni, was crowned on October 29, 2004.

Death

Sihanouk died in a hospital in Beijing on October 15, 2012, at the age of 89. The government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said he died of natural causes; Prince Sisowath Thomico, a member of the royal family who was also his assistant, said he had a heart attack. He had been in China for medical treatment since January of that year. He had asked to be cremated in the Buddhist tradition, with his ashes kept in a stupa at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

References 7