Historical figure
Norodom Suramarit
នរោត្តមសុរាម្រឹត
Norodom Suramarit (នរោត្តមសុរាម្រឹត) was king of Cambodia from 1955 to 1960.[1][2][3] He reigned with Queen Kossamak, and the two were the parents of Norodom Sihanouk and the grandparents of King Norodom Sihamoni.[2][4]
Reign
On March 2, 1955, Norodom Sihanouk gave up the throne in favor of his parents. A US National Intelligence Estimate of August 1955 called the step unexpected and gave its stated aim as winning the people's approval for his policies at the national elections set for that September.[2] The same estimate named Suramarit and Kossamak as the rulers of Cambodia. It called the king elderly and short of political experience, and it judged that Sihanouk was the most powerful figure in the country, working on the government through his parents and the Royal High Councilors.[2] The new monarchs kept the cabinet of Prime Minister Leng Ngeth, whom Sihanouk had appointed in January 1955.[2]
In 1956 a port was built in the Koh Pos (កោះពស់) area of Ream (រាម) commune, then part of Kampot (កំពត) province. As the area grew, King Suramarit made it a town named Kampong Som (កំពង់សោម) in 1957.[5][1] During his reign the town was renamed Preah Sihanouk (ព្រះសីហនុ).[5][6] Kampuchea Thmey and VAYO FM date the renaming to a royal decision of January 22, 1959; Thmey Thmey writes that the National Assembly made the change on December 4, 1959.[5][1][6]
Suramarit's reign ended in April 1960. Sihanouk, prime minister since July 1958, then became chief of state.[3]
Legacy
A stupa of King Suramarit and Queen Kossamak stands in the grounds of the Silver Pagoda, beside the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.[4] The official name of Kirirom National Park is Preah Suramarit-Kossamak Kirirom National Park.[7][8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 VAYO FM, History of Cambodia's Preah Sihanouk province (January 21, 2022; in Khmer)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Office of the Historian, US Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955-1957, Volume XXI, document 217: National Intelligence Estimate NIE 63.2-55 (August 16, 1955)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Office of the Historian, US Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958-1960, Volume XVI, list of persons (undated)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Canby Publications, The Royal Palace, Phnom Penh (undated)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Kampuchea Thmey, Dy Bunnara, What is the history of the name Kampong Som in Preah Sihanouk province? (November 13, 2025; in Khmer)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Thmey Thmey, Nhek Sreyleak, "Kampong Som" is named again, but as a town of Preah Sihanouk province (August 29, 2024; in Khmer)
- ↑ IntoCambodia.org, Preah Sihanouk Province (undated)
- ↑ Open Development Cambodia, National parks and wildlife sanctuaries (updated May 23, 2019)