Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk[a][b] (/ˈsiːhənʊk/; 31 October 1922 – 15 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in various capacities throughout his long career, most often as both King and Prime Minister of Cambodia. In Cambodia, he is known as Samdech Euv[c] (meaning "King Father"). During his lifetime, Cambodia was under various regimes, from French colonial rule (until 1953), a Japanese puppet state (1945), an independent kingdom (1953–1970), a military republic (1970–1975), the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979), a Vietnamese-backed communist regime (1979–1989), a transitional communist regime (1989–1993) to eventually another kingdom (since 1993).
"Samdech Euv" redirects here. For other uses, see Samdech Euv (disambiguation).Norodom Sihanouk
24 April 1941 – 2 March 1955
3 May 1941
24 September 1993 – 7 October 2004
Monarchy restored;
20 June 1960 – 18 March 1970
Chuop Hell (acting)
Cheng Heng (acting)
14 June – 24 September 1993
Chea Sim as President of the Council of State
Himself as King
17 April 1975 – 2 April 1976
Sak Sutsakhan as Chairman of the Supreme Committee
Khieu Samphan as Chairman of the State Presidium
31 October 1922
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, French Indochina
15 October 2012 (aged 89)
Beijing, China
13 July 2014
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Sisowath Pongsanmoni(m. 1942; div. 1951)
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Sisowath Monikessan(m. 1944; died 1946)
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Norodom Thavet Norleak(m. 1955; div. 1968)
- Composer
- film director
- politician
- Independent (1945–1955)
- Sangkum (1955–1970)
- Independent (1970–1981)
- FUNCINPEC (1981–1991)
Norodom Suramarit
Norodom Suramarit
Penn Nouth
Himself as Chief of State
Penn Nouth
Nhiek Tioulong (acting)
Norodom Suramarit
Sim Var
Norodom Suramarit
Sim Var
Norodom Suramarit
San Yun
Norodom Suramarit
Khim Tit
Norodom Suramarit
Oum Chheang Sun
Himself
Penn Nouth
Himself
Penn Nouth
Himself
Himself
Position established
Sihanouk was the only child of Prince Norodom Suramarit and Princess Sisowath Kossamak, daughter of King Sisowath Monivong. When his grandfather Monivong died in 1941, Sihanouk became king amidst French colonial rule. After the Japanese occupation of Cambodia during World War II, he secured Cambodian independence from France in 1953. He abdicated in 1955 and was succeeded by his father, Suramarit, so as to directly participate in politics. Sihanouk's political organization Sangkum won the general elections that year, and he became prime minister of Cambodia. He governed the country under one-party rule and suppressed political dissent. After his father died in 1960, Sihanouk assumed a new position as Chief of State of Cambodia.
Officially neutral in foreign relations, Sihanouk was closer to the communist bloc in practice. The 1970 Cambodian coup d'état ousted him, and he fled to China and North Korea, forming a government-in-exile and a resistance movement there. He encouraged Cambodians to fight the new government and backed the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian Civil War. He returned as figurehead head of state after the Khmer Rouge's victory in 1975. His relations with the new government soured, and in 1976 he resigned. He was placed under house arrest until Vietnamese forces overthrew the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
Sihanouk went into exile again and in 1981 formed FUNCINPEC, a resistance party. The following year, he became president of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), a broad coalition of anti-Vietnamese resistance factions which retained Cambodia's seat at the United Nations, making him Cambodia's internationally recognized head of state. In the late 1980s, informal talks were carried out to end hostilities between the Vietnam-supported People's Republic of Kampuchea and the CGDK. In 1990, the Supreme National Council of Cambodia was formed as a transitional body to oversee Cambodia's sovereign matters, with Sihanouk as its president. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords were signed, and the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was established the following year. The UNTAC organized the general elections in 1993, and a coalition government, jointly led by his son Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen, was subsequently formed. Sihanouk was reinstated as Cambodia's king. He abdicated again in 2004, and the Royal Council of the Throne chose his son Sihamoni as his successor. Sihanouk died in Beijing in 2012.
Between 1941 and 2006, Sihanouk produced and directed 50 films, some of which he acted in. The films, later described as being of low quality, often featured nationalistic elements, as did a number of the songs he wrote. Some of his songs were about his wife Monique, the nations neighboring Cambodia, and the communist leaders who supported him in his exile. In the 1980s, Sihanouk held concerts for diplomats in New York City. He also participated in concerts at his palace during his second reign. Sihanouk is remembered for his role in shaping modern Cambodia, particularly in leading the country to independence, although his reputation was damaged by his association with the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
FUNCINPEC and CGDK years[edit]
Resistance movement[edit]
After the Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown, a new Cambodian government supported by Vietnam, the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), was established. The Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, was unhappy[157] with Vietnam's influence over the PRK government. Deng proposed to Sihanouk that he co-operate with the Khmer Rouge to overthrow the PRK government, but Sihanouk refused,[158] as he opposed the genocidal policies pursued by the Khmer Rouge while they were in power.[157] In March 1981, Sihanouk established a resistance movement, FUNCINPEC which was complemented by a small resistance army known as Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste (ANS).[159]
He appointed In Tam, who had briefly served as Prime Minister in the Khmer Republic, as the commander-in-chief of ANS.[160] The ANS needed military aid from China, and Deng seized the opportunity to sway Sihanouk into collaborating with the Khmer Rouge.[161] Sihanouk reluctantly agreed, and started talks in March 1981 with the Khmer Rouge and the Son Sann-led Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) on a unified anti-PRK resistance movement.[162]
Negotiations and progression[edit]
After several rounds of negotiations mediated by Deng and Singapore's prime minister Lee Kuan Yew,[163] FUNCINPEC, KPNLF, and the Khmer Rouge agreed to form the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) in June 1982. The CGDK was headed by Sihanouk, and functioned as a government-in-exile.[164] The UN defeated a resolution to expel Democratic Kampuchea and admit the PRK, effectively confirming Sihanouk as Cambodia's internationally recognized head of state.[165]
As CGDK chairperson, Sihanouk unsuccessfully negotiated, over the next five years, with the Chinese government to broker a political settlement to end the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.[166] During this period, Sihanouk appointed two of his sons, Norodom Chakrapong and Norodom Ranariddh, to lead the ANS. Chakrapong was appointed as the deputy chief-of-staff for the ANS in March 1985,[167] while Ranariddh was minted to the twin positions of commander-in-chief and the chief-of-staff of the ANS in January 1986, replacing Tam.[168]
In December 1987, the Prime Minister of the PRK government, Hun Sen, first met with Sihanouk to discuss ending the protracted Cambodian–Vietnamese War.[169] The following July, the then-foreign minister of Indonesia, Ali Alatas, brokered the first round of meetings between the four warring Cambodian factions consisting of FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge, KPNLF, and the PRK government over the future of Cambodia. Two more rounds of meetings were held in February and May 1989; since all were held near Jakarta, they became known as the Jakarta Informal Meetings (JIM).[170]
In July 1989, Ali Alatas joined French foreign minister Roland Dumas in opening the Paris Peace Conference, where discussions took place regarding plans for Vietnamese troop withdrawal and power-sharing arrangements in a hypothetical future Cambodian government.[170] The following month, Sihanouk resigned as president of FUNCINPEC[171] but remained in the party as an ordinary member.[172] In September 1990, the United Nations (UN) sponsored the establishment of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), an administrative body responsible for overseeing the sovereign affairs of Cambodia for an interim period until UN-sponsored elections were held.[173] The creation of the SNC was subsequently ratified with United Nations Security Council Resolution 668.[174] In July 1991 Sihanouk left FUNCINPEC altogether and was elected as the chairperson of the SNC.[175]
UNTAC administration era[edit]
Paris peace accords and return to Cambodia[edit]
On 23 October 1991, Sihanouk led the FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge, KPNLF, and PRK into signing the Paris Peace Accords. The accords recognised the SNC as a "legitimate representative of Cambodian sovereignty" and created the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) to serve as a transitional government between 1992 and 1993.[176] In turn, UNTAC was given the mandate to station peacekeeping troops in Cambodia to supervise the disarmament of troops from the four warring Cambodian factions and to carry out national elections by 1993.[177] Sihanouk subsequently returned to Phnom Penh on 14 November 1991. Together with Hun Sen, Sihanouk rode in an open top limousine from Pochentong Airport all the way to the royal palace, greeting city residents who lined the streets to welcome his return.[178]
The UNTAC administration was set up in February 1992, but stumbled in its peacekeeping operations as the Khmer Rouge refused to cooperate in disarmament.[179] In response, Sihanouk urged UNTAC to abandon the Khmer Rouge from the peacekeeping process on two occasions, in July and September 1992. During this period, Sihanouk mostly resided in Siem Reap and occasionally traveled by helicopter to supervise election preparations in KPNLF, FUNCINPEC, and Khmer Rouge resistance bases.[180]
Sihanouk left in November 1992 to seek medical treatment in Beijing,[181] where he stayed for the next six months until his return to Cambodia in May 1993, on the eve of elections.[182] While in Beijing, Sihanouk proposed a Presidential system government for Cambodia to then-UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, but soon dropped the idea after facing opposition from the Khmer Rouge.[183]
1993 elections and pre-monarchical restoration[edit]
When general elections were held, FUNCINPEC, now headed by Sihanouk's son Norodom Ranariddh, won, while the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) headed by Hun Sen came in second.[184] The CPP was unhappy with the election results, and on 3 June 1993, Hun Sen and Chea Sim called on Sihanouk to lead the government. Sihanouk complied, and announced the formation of a Provisional National Government (PRG) headed by him, with Hun Sen and Ranariddh as his deputies.[185] Ranariddh was surprised at Sihanouk's announcement, as he had not been informed of his father's plans, and joined Australia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States in opposing the plan. The following day, Sihanouk rescinded his announcement through a national radio broadcast.[186]
On 14 June 1993, Sihanouk was reinstated as the head of state in a Constituent Assembly session presided over by Ranariddh, who took the opportunity to declare the 1970 coup d'état which overthrew Sihanouk as "illegal".[187] As Head of State, Sihanouk renamed the Cambodian military to its pre-1970 namesake, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. He also issued orders to officially rename the country from the State of Cambodia to simply "Cambodia", reinstating "Nokor Reach" as the National Anthem of Cambodia with some minor modifications to its lyrics, and the Cambodian flag to its pre-1970 design.[188]
At the same time, Sihanouk appointed Ranariddh and Hun Sen co-prime ministers, with equal powers.[189] This arrangement, which was provisional, was ratified by the Constituent Assembly on 2 July 1993.[187] On 30 August 1993,[190] Ranariddh and Hun Sen met with Sihanouk and presented two draft constitutions, one of them stipulating a constitutional monarchy headed by a king, and another a republic led by a head of state. Sihanouk opted for the draft stipulating Cambodia a constitutional monarchy,[191] which was ratified by the constituent assembly on 21 September 1993.[192]
Styles of
King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
Your Majesty