Norodom Sihanouk (Khmer: នេ�ត�ម សហីនុ; 31 October 1922 – 15 October 2012) was the King of

Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004. Also affectionately known as Samdech

Euv (Khmer: សេម�ចឪ) to theCambodian people, Sihanouk ascended to the throne in 1941. After

theSecond World War, he campaigned for the independence of Cambodia fromFrench rule, which

came true in 1953. In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated the throne in favour of his father Norodom Suramarit,

and went on to form theSangkum, a political organisation. Sihanouk led the Sangkum to win the1955

general elections, and became the Prime Minister of Cambodia. When Suramarit died in 1960,

Sihanouk introduced a constitutional amendmentwhich made him the Head of State of Cambodia, a

position which he held until 1970. Between 1955 and 1970, Sihanouk pursued a policy of neutralityfor

Cambodia. As he forged close ties with Communist countries, in particular China, this incurred the

suspicions of the United States (US) and its anti-Communist allies. Sihanouk maintained tenacious ties

with the US and their allies, as they engaged in various activities which Sihanouk perceived as attempts

to undermine his rule.

In March 1970, Sihanouk was overthrown as the Head of State by Lon Noland Sisowath Sirik Matak,

paving the way for the formation of the Khmer Republic. He fled to China and North Korea and went on

to form a government in exile, known as the Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea

(GRUNK) as well as a resistance movement, the National United Front of Kampuchea. As the leader of

GRUNK, Sihanouk lent his support to the Khmer Rouge which led to their victory against the Khmer

Republic in April 1975. Sihanouk subsequently returned to Cambodia and became the figurehead Head

of State of Democratic Kampuchea by the Khmer Rouge. In 1976, Sihanouk resigned from his position

which led to him being placed under house arrest until 1979 when Vietnamese forcesoverthrew the

Khmer Rouge. Sihanouk went into exile again, and in 1981 he formed FUNCINPEC, a resistance party.

The following year in 1982, Sihanouk was appointed as the President of the Coalition Government of

Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), consisting of the three anti-Vietnamese resistance factions including

FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF).

In the late 1980s, informal talks were carried out to end hostilities between the People's Republic of

Kampuchea (PRK) and resistance factions under the CGDK. A transitional body to oversee Cambodian

affairs, the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC) was formed in 1990 which saw Sihanouk

appointed as its President. The following year in 1991, peace accords were signed which led to the

creation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). The UNTAC

organised general elections in 1993, which led to the formation of a coalition government jointly led by

his son Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen. Sihanouk was reinstated as the Head of State of Cambodia

in June 1993. When a permanentconstitution was promolugated in September 1993, Sihanouk was

made the King of Cambodia for a second time. In 2004, Sihanouk abdicated again in favour of another

son, Norodom Sihamoni who succeeded him as king. He subsequently became known as the King

Father until his death in 2012. Sihanouk pursued an artistic career during his lifetime, and wrote several

musical compositions. He was also known to be a film producer, director and actor, and produced a

total of 50 films between 1966 and 2006.

Contents [hide]

• 1Early life and first reign • 2Sangkum era

o 2.1Premiership (1955–1960) o 2.2Initial years as Head of State (1960–1965) o 2.3Continued leadership as Head of State (1966–1970)

• 3Deposition, GRUNK and Khmer Rouge years • 4FUNCINPEC and CGDK years • 5UNTAC administration era • 6Second reign • 7Abdication and final years • 8Death and funeral • 9Artistic works

o 9.1Film-making o 9.2Music

• 10Titles and styles • 11Personal life

o 11.1Family o 11.2Ancestry

• 12References • 13Bibliography

o 13.1Books o 13.2Reports

Early life and first reign[edit]

Norodom Sihanouk in his coronation regalia, November 1941

Sihanouk was the only child born of the union between Norodom Suramarit and Sisowath

Kossamak.[1]He received his primary education at the Francois Baudoin school and Nuon Moniram

school, and subsequently pursued his secondary education in Saigon at Lycée Chasseloup

Laubat.[2] When his maternal grandfather Sisowath Monivong, died on 23 April 1941, the Crown Council

appointed Sihanouk as King of Cambodia the following day.[3] Subsequently, his coronation took place

on 3 May 1941.[4] During the Japanese occupation of Cambodia, he dedicated most of his time to

sports, filming and the occasional tour to the countryside.[5] In March 1945, the Japanese military which

had occupied Cambodia from August 1941 dissolved the nominal French colonial administration. Under

pressure from the Japanese, Sihanouk proclaimed Cambodia's independence[6] and assumed the

position of Prime Minister while serving as king at the same time.[7]

As Prime Minister, Sihanouk revoked a decree issued by the last resident superior of Cambodia,

Georges Gautier to romanise the Khmer alphabet.[8]Following the Surrender of Japan in August 1945,

nationalist forces loyal toSon Ngoc Thanh launched a coup which led to the latter's appointment as

Prime Minister.[9] When the French returned to Cambodia in October 1945, Thanh was deposed from

his position and was replaced by Sihanouk's uncleSisowath Monireth.[10] Monireth negotiated for greater

autonomy of internal affairs within Cambodia. A Modus Vivendi was signed in January 1946 whereby

Cambodia was granted full autonomy within the French Union.[11] A joint French-Cambodian commission

was set up after that to write Cambodia's constitution,[12] and in April 1946, Sihanouk introduced clauses

which provided for an elected parliament on the basis of universal male suffrage as well as press

freedom.[13] The first constitution was signed into effect by Sihanouk in May 1947.[14] Around this time,

Sihanouk made two trips to Saumur, France where he undertook military training at theArmoured

Cavalry Branch Training School in 1946 and again in 1948. At the end of the training, Sihanouk was

made a reserve captain for the French army.[15]

In early 1949, Sihanouk travelled to Paris with his parents to negotiate with the French government for

more autonomy over Cambodia, leading to the implementation of a new Franco-Khmer treaty that

cancelled the Modus Vivendi previously signed in 1946.[16] Later in September 1949, Sihanouk

dissolved the National Assembly and ruled by decree[17] until September 1951 when the Democrat

Party pressured Sihanouk to hold national elections.[18] Sihanouk travelled to France in February 1953,

and wrote twice to then-French President Vincent Auriol to cede control over all remaining executive

powers in Cambodia by citing on widespread anti-French sentiment among the Cambodian

populace.[19] Auriol responded by appointing the French commissioner for overseas territories, Jean

Letourneau to meet with Sihanouk. When Letourneau rejected Sihanouk's suggestion, the latter

travelled to Canada and United States (US) where he exploited on the prevailing anti-

communist sentiments to call for Cambodian independence. According to Sihanouk, Cambodia faced a

Communist threat similar to that of the Viet Minh in Vietnam and the solution to address the Communist

threat was full independence for Cambodia.[20]

Sihanouk returned to Cambodia in June 1953, taking up residence in Siem Reap.[21] He organised

public rallies calling for Cambodians to fight for independence, and formed a citizenry militia which

attracted around 130,000 recruits.[22] In August 1953, France agreed to cede control over judicial

andinterior affairs to Cambodia, while another further agreement was secured in October 1953 which

saw France surrendering control over defense matters. At the end of the month, Sihanouk returned to

Phnom Penh,[23] where he declared Cambodia's independence from France on 9 November 1953.[21] In

May 1954, Sihanouk sent Nhiek Tioulong and Tep Phan to participate in the Geneva

Conference.[24] The agreements signed for Cambodia reaffirmed the country's independence, and also

allowed it to seek military aid from any country without restrictions. At the same time, Sihanouk still

faced domestic opposition from the Democrat Party[25] which dominated the National Assembly and

were unhappy with Sihanouk's political activism.[18] In February 1955, Sihanouk held a national

referendum to gauge public approval ratings on his efforts in seeking national independence, which

returned with 99.8 percent of the electorate expressing approval.[26]

Sangkum era[edit]

Main article: Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970)

Premiership (1955–1960) [edit]

Meeting in Beijing in 1956: from left Mao Zedong, Peng Zhen, Sihanouk, Liu Shaoqi.

On 2 March 1955, Sihanouk abdicated from the throne,[21][27] and the royal throne council nominated his

father, Suramarit to succeed him.[28] A month later, Sihanouk decided to enter politics, and announced

the formation of theSangkum, a political organisation which he headed. Several political parties

including the Khmer Renovation Party, People's Party[29] and the Liberal Party subsequently dissolved

and merged themselves with the Sangkum.[30]At the same time, Sihanouk appointed Dap Chhuon, a

guerrilla leader based in Siem Reap to oversee the organisation of parliamentary elections slated to be

held in September 1955. With Sihanouk's approval, Chhuon intimidated politicians from the Democrat

Party and the Pracheachon, both of which had refused to merge with the

Sangkum.[31] When parliamentary elections were held in September 1955, the Sangkum received 83

percent of all valid votes, taking up all seats in the National Assembly.[32] The following month, Sihanouk

was appointed as Prime Minister.[33]

As Prime Minister, Sihanouk introduced several constitutional changes that included extending suffrage

to women, adopting Khmer as the sole official language of the country[34] and making Cambodia

a Constitutional monarchy by vesting policy making powers to the Prime Minister rather than to the

King.[35] He viewed socialism as an ideal concept in establishing social equality and fostering national

cohesion within newly-independent Cambodia. In March 1956, he embarked on a national programme

of "Buddhist socialism", espousing socialist principles on one hand while maintaining the need for

Cambodians to stay true to their Buddhist traditions.[36] Between 1955 and 1960, Sihanouk alternately

resigned and retook the Prime Minister post several times, citing fatigue caused by overwork as his

reason.[37] The National Assembly nominated experienced politicians such as Sim Var and San Yun to

become Prime Minister whenever Sihanouk took leave, but they similarly relinquished their posts each

time, after several months into their term,[38] as cabinet ministers repeatedly disputed over public policy

matters.[39]

In May 1955, Sihanouk accepted military aid from the United States (US),[40] but soon developed a

suspicious view towards it, when Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives attempted to coax him

into placing Cambodia underSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) protection when he was in

the Philippines on a state visit in January 1956.[41]He was also wary of the US attempting to destabilise

his government through its tacit support of the Democrat Party, which was later dissolved in 1957.[42] On

the other hand, Sihanouk struck up friendly ties with the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai when he first

visited the country in February 1956. They jointly signed a friendship treaty, which included a promise

by China to give US$40 million in economic aid to Cambodia.[43] When Sihanouk returned from China,

the Thai and South Vietnamese governments called him as a Communist ally, with the latter briefly

imposed an economic blockade which prevented trading ships from travelling up the Mekong river

to Phnom Penh.[44] While Sihanouk professed that he was pursuing a policy of neutrality, Sarit

Thanarat and Ngo Dinh Diem, the leaders of Thailand and South Vietnam who were respectively known

for their pro-American sympathies, distrusted Sihanouk, more so after he established formal diplomatic

relations with China in 1958.[45]

In December 1958, Ngo Dinh Nhu–Diem's younger brother and chief adviser, mooted the idea

of orchestrating a coup to overthrow Sihanouk.[46] Nhu contacted Dap Chhuon, Sihanouk's Interior

Minister who was known for his pro-American sympathies, to lead the coup attempt against his

boss.[47] To prepare for the coup, Chhuon was provided with covert financial and military assistance

from Thailand, South Vietnam and the CIA.[48] In January 1959, Sihanouk learnt of the coup plans

through his intermediaries who had contact with Chhuon.[49] The following month, Sihanouk sent the

army to capture Chhuon, who was summarily executed as soon as he was captured, effectively ending

the coup attempt.[50]Following Chhuon's execution, Sihanouk accused South Vietnam and the United

States of orchestrating the coup attempt.[51] Six months later on 31 August 1959, a small packaged

lacquer gift, which was fitted with a parcel bomb was delivered to the royal palace. Norodom Vakrivan,

the chief of protocol who opened the package, was killed instantly. Sihanouk's parents, Suramarit and

Kossamak were sitting in another room not far from Vakrivan, narrowly escaped unscathed. An

investigation was carried out and traced the origin of the parcel bomb being sent from an American

military base in Saigon.[52] While Sihanouk accused Ngo Dinh Nhu of masterminding the bomb attack,

the incident deepened his distrust of the US,[53] which he suspected that they had played a complicit role

in it.[54]

Initial years as Head of State (1960–1965) [edit]

Sihanouk with U.S. President John F. Kennedy in New York City on 25 September 1961.

Suramarit died on 3 April 1960 after suffering from several months of poor health,[55] which Sihanouk

attributed to the fright that his father received from the parcel bomb attack.[52] The following day, the

royal throne council met to choose Monireth as the Regent of Cambodia.[56] Over the next two months,

Sihanouk introduced constitutional amendments to create a new post of the Head of State of

Cambodia which provided ceremonial powers equivalent to that of the King. Areferendum was held on

5 June 1960 approved Sihanouk's proposals, and Sihanouk was formally appointed as the Head of

State on 14 June 1960.[57] As the Head of State, Sihanouk took over various ceremonial responsibilities

of the king, such as holding public audiences[58] and leading the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. At the

same time, he continued to play an active role in politics in his capacity as the President of the

Sangkum.[59]

Sometime in early 1962, political leaders from the Pracheachon, which was known for its left-wing

sympathies were cracked down by the police at Sihanouk's instructions. Its spokesman, Non Suon had

criticized Sihanouk a year earlier for failing to tackle inflation, unemployment and corruption issues,

arousing Sihanouk's ire.[60] In May 1962 Tou Samouth, the secretary-general of the Pracheachon

disappeared, which its ideological ally, the Communist Party of Kampuchea suspected that Samouth

was secretly captured and killed by the police.[61] At the same time, he co-opted politicians with left-wing

views including Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon, Hu Nim and Chau Seng into the Sangkum and allowed

them to stand for the parliamentary elections in June 1962, which they won.[62]

In November 1962, Sihanouk called on the US to stop supporting the Khmer Serei, which he believed

that they have had provided covert assistance through the CIA. He threatened to reject all economic aid

from the US if they failed to respond to his demands,[63] a decision which he put later to act on 19

November 1963.[64] At the same time, Sihanouk alsonationalised the country's entrepot trade, banking

sector and distillery industries.[65] He proceeded to establish the National Export-Import Corporation and

Statutory Board (SONEXIM), which was tasked to oversee policy and regulatory matters on the

country's entrepot trade.[66] Some three weeks later, on 9 December 1963, Sihanouk issued a

communique celebrating the deaths of Diem, Kennedy and Sarit. The US protested against Sihanouk's

communique, which Sihanouk responded by recalling Cambodian ambassador to the US, Nong Kimny

back home.[67]

In early 1964, Sihanouk signed a secret agreement with North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, which

allowed Chinese military aid destined for the latter to be delivered through the port of Sihanoukville. In

turn, the Cambodian army was allowed to skim off 10 percent of all military hardware shipped through

Cambodia, in addition to collecting payments for transporting food supplies to Viet Cong resistance

bases.[68] Sihanouk also allowed the Viet Cong to build a trail through eastern Cambodia to allow Viet

Cong troops to receive war supplies from North Vietnam, which became known as the Sihanouk

Trail.[69] When the US learnt of Vietcong presence in eastern Cambodia, they started a bombing

campaign in this region,[70] which spurned Sihanouk to sever diplomatic ties with the US in May

1965.[69] Other Communist countries including China, Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia provided

military aid to Cambodia as Sihanouk's became friendlier withNorth Vietnam.[71]

Continued leadership as Head of State (1966–1970) [edit]

Norodom Sihanouk in 1967.

In September 1966, general elections were held,[72] which led to many Sangkum nominees

with conservative and right-wing sympathies to be elected to the National Assembly. The newly elected

legislators nominated Lon Nol to become Prime Minister. Lon Nol's was known for his conservative and

right-wing views, and his nomination did not sit well with Sihanouk.[73] In response, Sihanouk set up

a shadow government in October 1966, made up of Sangkum legislators with left-wing sympathies to

counterbalance right-wing influences.[74] At the end of the month, Lon Nol offered to resign from his

position, which Sihanouk rejected.[75] In April 1967, fighting broke out between government troops and

local peasants in Samlaut,Battambang Province.[76] The fighting, which became known as the Samlaut

Uprisingwas quickly put down,[77] but Sihanouk soon developed a suspicion that three left-wing

legislators–Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon and Hu Nim had incited the rebellion.[78]When Sihanouk

threatened to charge Khieu Samphan and Hou Yuon before a military tribunal, both of them fled into the

jungle and joined Khmer Rouge.[79]

Lon Nol resigned as Prime Minister at the beginning of May 1967, and Sihanouk appointed Son Sann in

his place.[78] At the same time, Sihanouk replaced conservative-leaning ministers appointed by Lon Nol

with technocrats and left-leaning politicians, calling it an "Exceptional Government".[79] In the later part of

the month, Sihanouk accused China of supporting local Chinese Cambodians in engaging in

"contraband" and "subversive" activities,[80] as the Chinese embassy in Cambodia had published and

distributed Communist propaganda to the Cambodian populace appraising the Cultural Revolution,

causing much consternation to Sihanouk.[81] Subsequently, Sihanouk sent his Foreign

Minister, Norodom Phurissara to China in August 1967, who made a failed attempt to urge Zhou Enlai

in stopping the Chinese embassy for disseminating Communist propaganda.[82] In response, Sihanouk

closed the Cambodia-Chinese Friendship Association in September 1967. When the Chinese

government protested Sihanouk's action,[83] he followed up by threatening to close the Chinese

embassy in Cambodia as well.[84] Subsequently, Zhou Enlai stepped in to placate Sihanouk,[85] and

condescended by instructing its embassy to send its publications to Cambodia's Information Ministry for

vetting prior to distribution.[84]

Sihanouk subsequently pursued rapprochement with the US, starting in October 1967 when he hosted

a private visit ofJacqueline Kennedy to Cambodia.[86] The following January, Sihanouk met with the US

ambassador to India Chester Bowles, where he tacitly acknowledged the presence of Viet Cong troops

in the Cambodia, and allowed US forces to enter Cambodia in attacking Viet Cong

forces.[87] Subsequently, the US launched Operation Menu in March 1969, and its planes bombed parts

of eastern Cambodia. The bombing campaign prompted Viet Cong forced to flee from their sanctuaries

in the jungles, seeking refuge in populated towns and villages of the Cambodian countryside.[88] As a

result of the bombing campaign, Sihanouk became concerned with the prospect of Cambodia getting

drawn into the Vietnam War. In June 1969, he extended diplomatic recognition to the Provisional

Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRGSV),[89] with the hope of keeping the

scale Operation Menu in check. At the same time, he also openly admitted the presence of Viet Cong

troops in Cambodia for the first time in April 1969,[90] prompting the US to restore formal diplomatic

relations with Cambodia three months later.[91]

In January 1969, Sihanouk opened two casinos in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville,[92] at a time when the

Cambodian economy was facing stagnation and systemic corruption.[93] While the casinos generated

revenues that accounted up to 700 million riels for the state budget, it also caused a sharp increase in

the number of bankrupts and suicide incidences.[92] In August 1969, Lon Nol was reappointed as the

Prime Minister, with Sisowath Sirik Matak appointed as his deputy. Two months later, Lon Nol left

Cambodia in October to seek medical treatment, leaving Sirik Matak to lead the government. Between

October and December 1969, Sirik Matak instituted several policy changes that ran contrary to

Sihanouk's wishes, such as allowing private banks to re-open in the country and devaluing the riel. He

also encouraged ambassadors to write to Lon Nol directly, instead of going through Sihanouk, angering

the latter.[94] In early January 1970, Sihanouk left Cambodia for medical treatment in France.[95] Shortly

after Sihanouk left, Sirik Matak took the opportunity to close down the casinos.[96]

Deposition, GRUNK and Khmer Rouge years[edit]

Sihanouk visiting Romania in 1972, with Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu(right)..

On 11 March 1970, demonstrations occurred outside the North Vietnamese and PRGSV embassies.

The demonstrators looted and sacked both embassies, alarming Sihanouk who was still in

Paris.[97] Sihanouk made up his mind to visit Moscow, Beijing and Hanoi, with a view of pressuring state

leaders into getting Viet Cong forces to return to their sanctuaries in the underpopulated forests of

northeast Cambodia, where they had originally established themselves between 1964 till 1969.[98] Five

days later Oum Mannorine, the half-brother of Sihanouk's wife Monique, was summoned to the National

Assembly over corruption charges.[99] On the same night after the hearing, Mannorine ordered troops

under his command to arrest Lon Nol and Sirik Matak, but ended up getting arrested by Lon Nol's

troops. On 18 March 1970, the National Assembly voted to depose Sihanouk,[100] and allowed Lon Nol to

assume emergency powers.[101]

On the day of his overthrow, Sihanouk was in Moscow and the Soviet foreign minister Alexei Kosygin,

first informed him of the news.[102] From Moscow, Sihanouk flew to Beijing where he was received by

Zhou Enlai. Zhou arranged for the North Vietnamese Prime Minister, Pham Van Dong to fly to Beijing

from Hanoi and meet with Sihanouk.[103] Both Zhou and Dong encouraged Sihanouk to rebel against Lon

Nol and promised to give the latter military and financial support. On 23 March 1970, Sihanouk

announced the formation of his resistance movement, the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK)

and encouraged the Cambodian people to join him in fighting against Lon Nol's

government.[104] Sometime later on 5 May 1970, Sihanouk announced the formation of a government-in-

exile known as Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea (GRUNK) and led Communist

countries including China, North Vietnam, and North Korea to break relations with the Lon Nol

regime.[105] In Phnom Penh, a military trial convened on 2 July 1970, whereby Sihanouk was charged

with treason and corruption in his capacity as Head of State. After a three-day trial, the judges ruled that

Sihanouk guilty of the charges and sentenced to him death, in absentia on 5 July 1970.[106]

Sihanouk alternately lived in Beijing and Pyongyang between 1970 and 1975, where he lived in state

guesthouses.[107] In February 1973, Sihanouk travelled to Hanoi where he started on a long journey with

Khieu Samphan and other Khmer Rouge leaders. The convoy traveled along the Ho Chi Minh trail and

reached the Cambodian border at Stung Treng Province the following month. Sihanouk travelled across

the provinces of Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, and Siem Reap. Throughout his visit, Sihanouk faced

constant bombardment from American planes participating in Operation Freedom Deal.[108] At Siem

Reap, Sihanouk visited the temples of Angkor Wat, Banteay Srei, and Bayon.[109] In August 1973, Sirik

Matak wrote an open letter to call Sihanouk to bring the Cambodian Civil War to an end and accepting

the possibility of the latter returning to the country. When the letter reached Sihanouk, he angrily

rejected Sirik Matak's advances.[110]

When the Khmer Republic fell to the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, Sihanouk was nominated to the

symbolic position as the Head of State for the Khmer Rouge regime, officially known as Democratic

Kampuchea.[111] He continued to live in Beijing until September 1975[112] when he returned to Cambodia

so as to inter the ashes of Queen Kossamak, who had died in Beijing just days after the Fall of Phnom

Penh.[113] He subsequently went abroad to recommend the diplomatic recognition of Democratic

Kampuchea, and visited several Communist countries[114] before returning to Cambodia on 31

December 1975. After presiding a meeting to endorse the constitution of the Democratic

Kampuchea,[115] Sihanouk was taken on a tour across Cambodia by Khieu Samphan the following

month, whereby he witnessed the effects of theCambodian genocide orchestrated by the Angkar.

Following the tour, Sihanouk decided to resign from his position as the head of state.[116] The Angkar

initially rejected his resignation request, though they subsequently accepted it in mid-April 1976, which

they retroactively backdated the resignation to 2 April 1976.[117]

From this point of time onwards, Sihanouk was kept under house arrest at the royal palace until

September 1978, when he was relocated to another apartment within Phnom Penh where he stayed

until the end of the year.[118] Throughout his entire period of confinement, Sihanouk made several

requests to travel overseas to the Angkar, which were all turned down.[119] On New Year's Day of 1979,

Sihanouk was taken from Phnom Penh to Sisophon, where they stayed for three days until 5 January

when they were taken back to Phnom Penh.[120] Sihanouk was taken to meet Pol Pot, who apprised him

of the Angkar's plans to repulse Vietnamese troops who have invaded parts of eastern Cambodia since

December 1978.[121] On 6 January 1979, Sihanouk flew to Beijing from Phnom Penh, where he was

greeted by Zhou Enlai's successor, Deng Xiaoping.[122] Three days later, Sihanouk flew from Beijing to

New York to attend the UN Security Council, where he simultaneously condemned the Khmer Rouge

for orchestrating the Cambodian genocide as well as theVietnamese occupation of

Cambodia.[123] Sihanouk subsequently sought asylum in China after making two unsuccessful asylum

applications with the US and France.[124]

FUNCINPEC and CGDK years[edit]

Sihanouk (right) accompanied by his son, Norodom Ranariddh on an ANS inspection tour during the 1980s.

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[125] with Vietnam's influence over the PRK government. Deng proposed to Sihanouk to co-

operate with the Khmer Rouge to overthrow the PRK government, an idea which Sihanouk

rejected[126] as he was against the genocidal policies pursued by the Khmer Rouge, while they were in

power.[125] In March 1981, Sihanouk established a resistance movement,FUNCINPEC together with a

small resistance army known as the ANS (Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste).[127] He appointed In Tam,

who had briefly served as the Prime Minister of the Khmer Republic, as the Commander-in-chief of the

ANS.[128]Around this time, Sihanouk started tripartite talks between FUNCINPEC with the Khmer Rouge

and the Son Sann-led Khmer People's National Liberation Front(KPNLF)[129] as Deng pressured him to

collaborate with the Khmer Rouge as a precondition to receiving military aid for ANS.[130]

After several rounds of tripartite talks, Sihanouk presided over the establishment of a government exile,

known as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea(CGDK) in June 1982.[130] The CGDK

consisted of FUNCINPEC, KPNLF and the Khmer Rouge, and China mediated additional tripartite talks

between the three CGDK factions between 1982 and 1987, but was unable to bring progress to ending

the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.[131] During this period of time, Sihanouk appointed two of his

sons, Norodom Chakrapong and Norodom Ranariddh, to leading roles in the ANS. Chakrapong was

appointed as the deputy chief-of-staff for the ANS in March 1985,[132] while Ranariddh was minted to the

twin positions of commander-in-chief and the chief-of-staff of the ANS in January 1986, replacing In

Tam.[133] In December 1987, the Prime Minister of the PRK government, Hun Sen first met with

Sihanouk to discuss about the ending of the protracted Cambodian–Vietnamese War.[134] The following

July, the then-foreign minister of Indonesia, Ali Alatas brokered the first series of discussion known as

the Jakarta Informal Meetings (JIM). The JIMs were held near Jakarta, and involved the four warring

Cambodian factions consisting of FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge, KPNLF and the PRK government over

the future of Cambodia.[135]

Two more rounds of JIMs were held in February and May 1989. After which in July 1989, Ali Alatas

together with French foreign minister Roland Dumas, convened the Paris Peace Conference to discuss

plans for Vietnamese troop withdrawal and power sharing arrangements for a future Cambodian

government.[135] The following month, Sihanouk resigned as president of FUNCINPEC,[136] but remained

in the party as an ordinary member.[137] In September 1990, the United Nations (UN) sponsored the

establishment of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), an administrative body responsible

for overseeing sovereign affairs of Cambodia for an interim period until UN-sponsored elections are

held.[138]The creation of the SNC was subsequently ratified with United Nations Security Council

Resolution 668.[139] In July 1991, Sihanouk left FUNCINPEC altogether, and was elected as the

chairperson of the SNC.[140]

UNTAC administration era[edit]

The Paris Peace Accords were signed on 23 October 1991, which gave formal recognition to the SNC

and also provided for the creation a transitional government of Cambodia, known as the United Nations

Transitional Authority in Cambodia(UNTAC).[141] The accords empowered the UNTAC to station

peacekeeping troops in Cambodia to supervise the disarmament of the four warring Cambodian

factions and carry out free and fair national elections in the country.[142]Sihanouk returned to Phnom

Penh on 14 November 1991, and city folks lined the streets of Phnom Penh as he rode in an open top

limousine with Hun Sen to celebrate his return to the country.[143] The UNTAC administration was

established in February 1992, but soon faced resistance from the Khmer Rouge in enforcing

peacekeeping operations.[144] Sihanouk responded by calling to abandon the Khmer Rouge from the

peacekeeping process in July and September 1992. During this period of time, Sihanouk spent most of

the time in Siem Reap and making helicopter trips to supervise election preparations in KPNLF,

FUNCINPEC and Khmer Rouge resistance bases.[145]

Sihanouk left Cambodia for Beijing in November 1992,[146] where he would stay on for the next six

months until he returned to Cambodia on the eve of elections in May 1993.[147] While in Beijing,

Sihanouk proposed a Presidential systemgovernment for Cambodia to then-UN secretary-

general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, but soon dropped the idea after the Khmer Rouge opposed his

proposal.[148] The general elections were held in May 1993, with FUNCINPEC headed by Sihanouk's

son Norodom Ranariddh garnering the most votes while the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) headed

by Hun Sen came in second.[149] CPP leaders were unhappy with the election results and on 3 June

1993, Hun Sen and Chea Sim called on Sihanouk to assume all state power. Sihanouk complied, and

announced the formation of a Provisional National Government (PRG) headed by him with Hun Sen

and Ranariddh as his deputies.[150] Ranariddh was not informed of Sihanouk's plans, and joined

the Australia, China, United Kingdom and United States in opposing the PRG plan. Sihanouk dropped

the PRG plan the following day through a national radio broadcast.[151]

On 14 June 1993, a constituent assembly session presided by Ranariddh nullified the 1970 coup d'état

which overthrew Sihanouk, and reinstated the latter as Cambodia's Head of State.[152] In the first few

days of his appointment, Sihanouk renamed the Cambodian military to its pre-1970 namesake,

the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. On 29 June 1993, Sihanouk issued another order to officially

rename the country from the State of Cambodia to simply "Cambodia". He also reinstated Nokor

Reach as the National Anthem of Cambodia with some minor modifications to its lyrics, and also

theCambodian flag to its pre-1970 design.[153] Sihanouk also appointed Ranariddh and Hun Sen as the

Co-Prime Ministers of Cambodia with equal powers in a provisional government,[154] which was ratified

by the Constituent Assembly on 2 July 1993.[152] On 30 August 1993,[155] Ranariddh and Hun Sen met

Sihanouk presented two draft constitutions, one of them stipulating a constitutional monarchy headed

by a King and another a republican state led by a Head of State. Sihanouk chose the option of making

Cambodia a constitutional monarchy,[156] and was ratified by the constituent assembly on 21 September

1993.[157]

Second reign[edit]

Sihanouk granting an audience to US ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn in March 1996.

The new constitution was proclaimed on 24 September 1993, and Sihanouk was reinstated as the King

of Cambodia.[158] A permanent coalition government was formed between FUNCINPEC, CPP and

BLDP, with Ranariddh and Hun Sen assuming the positions of First and Second Prime Ministers

respectively.[159] Shortly after that, Sihanouk took leave to Beijing where he spent several months for

cancer treatment.[160] In April 1994, Sihanouk returned to Cambodia,[161] and the following month, he

publicly called for the government to hold fresh elections and appoint Khmer Rouge representatives into

the government. Both Ranariddh and Hun Sen rejected his suggestions,[162][163] but Sihanouk pressed on,

further proposing a national unity government that would see the participation of FUNCINPEC, CPP

and Khmer Rouge forces, with him as the Head of State and government.[164] Again, both Prime

Ministers rejected Sihanouk's proposal, citing Khmer Rouge's past intransigent attitude would make the

proposal unrealistic.[165][166] Sihanouk became very frustrated at the rejections, lamenting that the two

Prime Ministers have been ignoring him. As Norodom Sirivudh[167] and Julio Jeldres, his younger half-

brother and official biographer respectively saw it, this was a clear sign that the monarchy's ability to

exert control over national affairs had diminished, vis-a-vis the Prime Ministers.[168]

In July 1994, one of his sons Norodom Chakrapong led a failed coup attempt to topple the

government.[169] Following the coup attempt, Chakrapong took refuge in a hotel in Phnom Penh, but

government troops soon discovered his hideout and surrounded the hotel. Chakrapong contacted

Sihanouk, who negotiated with the government to allow his son to go into exile in Malaysia.[170] The

following November, Sirivudh was accused of plotting to assassinate Hun Sen and imprisoned.

Sihanouk intervened to have Sirivudh be detained at the interior ministry's headquarters, convinced that

there was a secret plan to kill the latter if he were to remain in prison.[171] After Sirivudh was relocated to

the interior ministry's headquarters, Sihanouk appealed to Hun Sen, requesting that Sirivudh be allowed

to go into exile in France, who then accepted his offer.[172]

Relations between the two co-Prime Ministers, Ranariddh and Hun Sen started to deteriorate from

March 1996,[173] when the former accused the CPP of repeatedly delaying the allocation process of low-

level government posts to FUNCINPECs.[174] Ranariddh threatened to pull out of the coalition

government[175] and hold national elections in the same year if his demands were not met,[176] stoking

unease from Hun Sen and other CPP officials.[176] The following month, Sihanouk presided over a

meeting between some royal family members and senior FUNCINPEC officials in Paris. Sihanouk

attempted to tone down the tensions between FUNCINPEC and the CPP by assuring that FUNCINPEC

would not leave the coalition government nor were there no reactionary elements to bring down Hun

Sen or the CPP after the meeting.[177] In March 1997, Sihanouk stated his willingness to abdicate the

throne, claiming that the rising anti-royalist sentiment among the populace was threatening the

monarchy's existence.[178] Sihanouk's comments provoked a sharp response from Hun Sen, who tersely

warned that he would introduce constitutional amendments to prohibit members of the royal family from

participating in politics.[179] As Widyono saw it, Sihanouk remained popular with the Cambodian

electorate, and Hun Sen feared that should he abdicate and subsequently enter politics, he would win

in any future elections, thereby undercutting CPP's political clout.[178]

In July 1997, violent clashes erupted in Phnom Penh between infantry forces separately allied to the

CPP and FUNCINPEC, which effectively led to Ranariddh's ouster after FUNCINPEC forces were

defeated.[180] Sihanouk voiced displeasure against Hun Sen for orchestrating the clashes, but refrained

from calling Ranariddh's ouster a "coup d'etat", a term which FUNCINPEC members used.[181] When the

National Assembly elected Ung Huot as the First Prime Minister to replace Ranariddh on 6 August

1997,[182] Sihanouk charged that Ranariddh's ouster was illegal and renewed his offer to abdicate the

throne, a plan which did not materialise.[183] In September 1998, Sihanouk meditated political talks

in Siem Reap after the FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) staged demonstrations against

the CPP-led government for irregularities over the 1998 general elections. The talks broke down at the

end of the month, after Hun Sen narrowly escaped an assassination attempt which he accused Sam

Rainsy of masterminding the attack.[184] Two months later in November 1998, Sihanouk brokered a

second round of political talks between the CPP and FUNCINPEC,[185] whereby an agreement was

reached for another coalition government between the CPP and FUNCINPEC.[184]

Sihanouk maintained a monthly bulletin, which he wrote commentaries over governance issues and

posted photo souvenirs of Cambodia in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 1997, a character known by the

name of "Ruom Rith" started to appear in the monthly bulletin and became extremely critical of Hun

Sen and the government. Hun Sen reportedly became extremely unhappy with the commentaries, and

called on the king to stop publishing the commentaries on two occasions in 1998 and

2003.[186][187] According to Ranariddh, Ruom Rith was an alter ego of Sihanouk, a claim which the latter

vehemently denies.[188] In July 2002, Sihanouk expressed concern over the absence of detailed

constitutional provisions over the organisation and functioning of the Cambodian throne

council.[189] When Hun Sen rejected Sihanouk concern, the latter issued a letter in September 2002

threatening to abdicate so as to force the throne council to convene and elect a new monarch.[190]

General elections were held again in July 2003, whereby the CPP won the most votes but failed to

secure two-thirds of all parliamentary seats as required by the constitution to form a new government.

The two runner-up parties of the election, FUNCINPEC and SRP[191] filed complaints over alleged

electoral irregularities with the Constitutional Council, which were turned down in August 2003.[192] When

they announced their decision to boycott the swearing in ceremony of parliamentarians, Sihanouk

attempted to pressure both parties to change their decision, threatening to abstain from presiding the

ceremony if they did not follow through his wishes.[193] The Constitutional Council subsequently advised

Sihanouk to preside over the swearing-in ceremony,[194] which was held later in October 2003 with

Sihanouk presiding over the ceremony.[195] The CPP, FUNCINPEC and SRP held additional talks into

2004 and Sihanouk proposed a tripartite unity government consisting of the three political parties, which

was rejected by Hun Sen and Ranariddh. At the same time, political stalemate persisted until June

2004 due to conflicting demands from the three political parties.[196][197]

Abdication and final years[edit]

On 6 July 2004, Sihanouk penned an open letter in stating his intention to abdicate, after expressing

unhappiness at being ignored by Hun Sen and Ranariddh in his attempts to broker the political

stalemate. At the same time, Hun Sen and Ranariddh had agreed to introduce a constitutional

amendment that provided for an open voting system, which requires parliamentarians to select cabinet

ministers and the President of the National Assembly by a show of hands. Sihanouk disapproved of the

open voting system, and called on Senate President Chea Sim not to sign the amendment. When Chea

Sim heeded his advice, he was ferried out of the country shortly before the National Assembly

convened to vote on the amendment 15 July.[198] A new coalition government was formed on the 17 July

2004 between the CPP and FUNCINPEC, while the SRP remained as an opposition party.[199] On 6

October 2004, Sihanouk wrote a letter calling for the throne council to convene and select a successor.

The National Assembly and Senate held emergency meetings to pass laws allowing for the abdication

of the monarch, and on 14 October the throne council unanimously voted to select Norodom Sihamoni

as Sihanouk's successor.[200] Sihamoni was crowned as the King of Cambodia on 29 October 2004.[201]

In March 2005, Sihanouk expressed concerns over allegations of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam of

delineating borders at the expense of Cambodian territory. Two months later, Sihanouk formed the

Supreme National Council on Border Affairs (SNCBA) to address concerns over Cambodian borders

with its neighbours, and appointed himself as the chairman.[201]The SRP and Chea Sim expressed

support for Sihanouk for the formation of the SNCBA, while Hun Sen formed a separate body, National

Authority on Border Affairs (NABA) to deal with border concerns and stated that the SNCBA may only

serve as an advisory body.[202] In October 2005, Sihanouk dissolved the SNCBA, around the same time

Hun Sen signed a border treaty with Vietnam.[203] In August 2007, a US based human rights NGO called

for Sihanouk's State immunity to be lifted, so as to allow him to testify in the Extraordinary Chambers in

the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).[204]Sihanouk responded to the call by inviting the ECCC public affairs

officer, Peter Foster for a discussion session on his personal experience under the Khmer Rouge

regime.[205] Both Hun Sen and FUNCINPEC criticized the suggestion, with the latter calling the NGO as

disrespectful to Sihanouk.[204] The ECCC subsequently rejected his invitation.[206]

The following year, bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia became strained due

to overlapping claims of the land area surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple. Sihanouk issued a

communique in July 2008 to emphasise the Khmer architecture of the temple as well as ICJ's 1962

ruling of the temple in favour of Cambodia.[207] In August 2009, Sihanouk stated that he would stop

posting messages on his personal website due to his advancing age, which made it difficult for him to

keep up with his personal duties.[208] Sihanouk spent most of his time in Beijing for medical treatment.

He made a final public appearance in Phnom Penh on his 89th birthday and 20th anniversary of the

Paris Peace Accords on 30 October 2011. Thereafter, Sihanouk expressed his intent to stay in

Cambodia indefinitely,[209] but returned to Beijing in January 2012 for further medical treatment at the

advise of his Chinese doctors.[210]

Death and funeral[edit]

Main article: Death and state funeral of Norodom Sihanouk

Funeral procession of King Norodom Sihanouk.

In January 2012, Sihanouk issued a letter to express his wish to be cremated following his death, and

to place his ashes in a golden urn.[211] A few months later in September 2012, Sihanouk stated his intent

not to return to Cambodia from Beijing for his 90th birthday, citing fatigue as the reason.[212] On 15

October 2012, Sihanouk died of a heart attack at 1.20 am, Phnom Penh time.[213] King Norodom

Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen led a delegation of officials to Beijing on the same day.[214] The

Cambodian government announced an official mourning period of 7 days between 17 October 2012

and 24 October 2012, and state flags were told to fly at one-third of the mast height. Two days later,

Sihanouk's body was brought back from Beijing on an Air China flight,[215] and about 1.2 million people

lined the streets from the airport to the royal palace to witness the return of Sihanouk's cortege.[216]

In late November 2012, Hun Sen announced plans for Sihanouk's funeral and cremation to be held in

February 2013. Sihanouk's body lay in state at the royal palace for[217] the next three months until the

funeral was held on 1 February 2013.[218] A 6,000 metre street procession was held, and Sihanouk's

body was subsequently kept at the royal crematorium until 4 February 2013 when his body was

cremated.[219] The following day, the royal family scattered some of Sihanouk's ashes into the Tonle

Sap river while the rest were kept in the palace's throne hall for about a year.[220] In October 2013, a

stupa featuring a bronze statue of Sihanouk was inaugurated next to the Independence Monument.[221]In

July 2014, Sihanouk's ashes were interred at the silver pagoda next to those of one of his daughters,

Kantha Bopha.[222]

Artistic works[edit]

Statue of Norodom Sihanouk in Phnom Penh.

Film-making [edit] Main article: Norodom Sihanouk filmography

Sihanouk produced about 50 films throughout his lifetime.[223] He developed an interest for the cinema

from a young age, which he attributed to frequent trips to the cinema with his parents.[1] Shortly after

becoming king in 1941, Sihanouk began experimenting with film-making,[224] and sent students to study

filmmaking in France.[225] When the film Lord Jim was released in 1965, Sihanouk became vexed with

the negative portrayal the film gave of Cambodia.[226] Sihanouk responded by producing his first feature

film, Apsara in 1966 which was marked with a positive portrayal of Cambodia. Sihanouk went on to

produce, direct and act in another eight more films between 1966 and 1969, and roped in members of

the royal family and military generals to star in his films.[227] Sihanouk had expressed that his films were

created with the intent of portraying Cambodia in a positive light,[228] and Australian historian Milton

Osborne also noted that the films were filled with Cold War[229] and nationalist propaganda

themes.[230] Sihanouk former adviser, Charles Meyer had that criticised his films created from the 1960s

were of amateurism standards, while the director of Reyum Institute, Ly Daravuth had similarly

commented in 2006 that his films lacked artistic qualities.[224]

In 1967, one of Sihanouk films, The Enchanted Forest obtained a nomination at the 5th Moscow

International Film Festival.[231] In 1968, Sihanouk launched the Phnom Penh International Film Festival,

which was later held for a second time as well in 1969. In both years, a special award category was

designated, the Golden Apsara Prize which Sihanouk became the only nominee and

winner.[230] Sihanouk stopped making films following his ouster in 1970, but started to produce films

again from 1987 onwards.[232] In 1997, Sihanouk received a special jury prize from the International Film

Festival of Moscow, and revealed that he received a budget ranging from $20,000 to $70,000 for each

of his film production from the Cambodian government. Six years later in 2004, Sihanouk donated his

film archives to the École française d'Extrême-Orient in France and Monash

University in Australia.[224] Sihanouk produced his last film, Miss Asina in 2006,[225] and went on to state

that he was ending all film production activities four years later in May 2010.[233]

Music [edit]

Sihanouk wrote at least 48 musical compositions between the late 1940s until the early 1970s,[234] which

combined elements of traditional Khmer and Western music.[235] From the 1940s until the 1960s,

Sihanouk's compositions were mostly based on sentimental, romantic and patriotic themes. Sihanouk's

romantic songs were reflected the numerous romantic relations that he had experienced, particularly to

that of his wife Monique,[236] and compositions including "My Darling" and "Monica" were dedicated to

her. His patriotic compositions were written with a view to highlight the positive aspects of particular

places, and at the same time foster a sense of patriotism and national unity in the Cambodian people.

Notable compositions, such as "Flower of Battambang", "Beauty of Kep City", "Phnom Kulen", and

"Phnom Penh" were written with patriotic themes. A few of his other compositions, including "Luang

Prabang", "Nostalgia of China" and "Goodbye Bogor" were sentimental songs[237] about neighbouring

countries including Laos, Indonesia and China.[238]

Following his overthrow as the head of state in 1970, Sihanouk wrote several revolutionary-style

songs[239] that praised the leaders of Communist countries, including "Hommage Khmer au Maréchal

Kim Il Sung" and "Merci, Piste Ho Chi Minh". Sihanouk's revolutionary-style songs were written as a

reflection of his gratitude to the Communist leaders, which had supported his GRUNK between 1970

and 1975.[240] From a young age,[1] Sihanouk learnt to play several musical instruments such as the

clarinet, saxophone, piano and accordion[231] Sihanouk led a musical band in the 1960s consisting

members of the royal family, who would perform French songs and his own personal compositions to

diplomats at the royal palace.[241] In his tours across Cambodian provinces, Sihanouk was accompanied

by the royal military orchestra and Cambodian pop singers.[238] Later as Sihanouk lived in exile during

the 1980s, Sihanouk hosted concerts to entertain diplomats whenever he was in New York City to visit

the United Nations Headquarters.[242] After he was reinstated as king in 1993, Sihanouk continued to

perform in concerts held at the royal palace on an occasional basis.[243]

Titles and styles[edit]

See also: List of honours received by Norodom Sihanouk

Styles of

King Norodom Sihanouk

Reference style His Majesty

Spoken style Your Majesty

Alternative style Sir

Sihanouk was known by many state and political titles throughout his lifetime,[244] and the Guinness

Book of World Records identifies Sihanouk as the royal who has served the greatest variety of state

and political offices.[245] When Sihanouk was crowned as the King of Cambodia in 1941, he was

bestowed with the official title of "Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman", which he

used for both reigns between 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004.[4] He subsequently reverted to

the title of Prince following his abdication from the throne in 1955, and was bestowed the title of

"Samdech Preah Upayuvareach" by his father and successor in 1955,[21] which translates as "The

Prince who has been King" in English.[246]Starting from the early 1960s when he became the Head of

State,[247] Sihanouk was affectionately known as "Samdech Euv" to most Cambodians,[248] ("Samdech

Euv" is a Khmer title which translates as the Prince Father in English.)[245]

In 2004, Sihanouk became known as the King Father of Cambodia,[249] with the official title of "Preah

Karuna Preah Bat Sâmdach Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preahmâhaviraksat"

(Khmer: ពះករុ� ពះ�ទសេម�ច ពះ នេ�ត�ម សហីនុ ពះម�វ �រក� ត) when he abdicated for a second

time.[245] He was also referred to by another honorific, "His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk The Great

Heroic King King-Father of Khmer independence, territorial integrity and national unity" ( ពះករុ�

ពះ�ទសេម�ច ពះ នេ�ត�ម សីហនុ ពះម�វ �រក� ត ពះវរ�ជបិ�ឯក�ជ� បូរណ"ពទឹកដី

និងឯក"ព&តិែខ) រ).[250]At the same time, he issued a royal decree requesting to be called "Samdech

Ta" or "Samdech Ta-tuot",[251] which translates as "Grandfather" and "Great-grandfather" respectively in

English.[252] When Sihanouk passed away in October 2012, he was bestowed by his son Sihamoni with

the posthumous title of "Preah Karuna Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preah Borom Ratanakkot"

(Khmer: ពះករុ� ពះនេ�ត�ម សហីនុ ពះបរមរតនេ*ដ+), which literally translates as "The King who lies

in the Diamond Urn" in English.[253]

Personal life[edit]

Sihanouk's name is derived from two Sanskrit words "Siha" and "Manu", which translates as "Lion" and

"Jaws" respectively in English.[254][255] He was fluent in Khmer, French as well as English,[256] and also

learnt Greek and Latin in high school.[257] In his high school days, Sihanouk

played soccer, basketball, volleyball and also took up horse riding.[1]He suffered from diabetes and

depression in the 1960s,[258] which flared up again in the late 1970s while living in captivity under the

Khmer Rouge.[259] In November 1992, Sihanouk suffered a stroke[260] caused by the thickening of the

coronary arteries and blood vessels.[261] The following year he was diagnosed with B cell lymphoma in

the prostate[262] and was treated with chemotherapy and surgery.[263] Sihanouk's lymphoma went into

remission in 1995,[264] but returned again in 2005 in the gastric region. He suffered a third bout of

lymphoma in 2008[262] and after prolonged treatment, it went into remission the following year.[265]

In 1960, Sihanouk built a personal residence at Chamkarmon District where he would live in over the

next ten years as the Head of State.[266] Following his overthrow in 1970, Sihanouk took up residence in

Beijing, where he lived at theDiaoyutai State Guesthouse in the first year of his stay. In 1971, Sihanouk

moved to a larger residence in the city which once housed the French embassy.[267] The residence was

equipped with a temperature-adjustable swimming pool,[107]cinema[268] and seven chefs to cook his

meals.[269] In 1974, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung built Changsuwon, a 40-room mansion for

Sihanouk.[270] Changsuwon was built near an artificial lake, and Sihanouk spent time taking boat trips

there and also shot a few films within its compound.[271] In August 2008, Sihanouk declared his assets

on his website, which according to him consisted of a small house in Siem Reap and 30,000 Euros of

cash savings stored in a French bank. He also stated that his residences in Beijing and Pyongyang

were guesthouses owned by the governments of China and North Korea respectively and that they did

not belong to him.[272]

Family [edit]

Sihanouk's spouse, Norodom Monineath, and their son Norodom Sihamoni photographed at Sihanouk's funeral.

To the extreme left is Sihanouk's half-brother, Norodom Sirivudh.

Sihanouk married Paule Monique Izzi in April 1952, the daughter of Pomme Peang–a Cambodian lady,

and Jean-François Izzi, a French banker of Italian ancestry.[273] Monique became Sihanouk's lifelong

partner,[95] and in the 1990s she changed her name to Monineath.[274] Prior to his marriage to Monique,

Sihanouk had married five other women including Phat Kanhol, Sisowath Pongsanmoni, Sisowath

Monikessan, Mam Manivan Phanivong and Thavet Norleak.[275] Monikessan died of childbirth in 1946

while his marriages to other women all ended in divorce.[276] Sihanouk sired fourteen children with five

different wives except for Thavet Norleak, who bore him no children.[277] Five children and fourteen

grandchildren disappeared during the Khmer Rouge years, which Sihanouk concluded that they were

killed by the Khmer Rouge leadership.[278][279]

Sihanouk had the following issue:

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Buppha Devi 1943 Phat Kanhol

Norodom Yuvaneath 1943 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Ranariddh 1944 Phat Kanhol

Norodom Ravivong 1944 1973 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni Malaria[280]

Norodom Chakrapong 1945 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Norodom Naradipo 1946 1976 Sisowath

Monikessan

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[281]

Norodom Sorya Roeungsi 1947 1976 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[281]

Norodom Kantha Bopha 1948 1952 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni Leukemia[280]

Norodom Khemanourak 1949 1975 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Botum Bopha 1951 1975 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Sujata 1953 1975 Mam Manivan Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Sihamoni 1953 Monique Izzi

(Monineath)

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Narindrapong 1954 2003 Monique Izzi

(Monineath) Heart attack[283]

Norodom Arunrasmy 1955 Mam Manivan

Ancestry [edit] [show]Ancestors of Norodom Sihanouk

References[edit]

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Bibliography[edit]

Wikiquote has

quotations related

to: Norodom Sihanouk

Wikimedia Commons has

media related

to Norodom Sihanouk.

Books [edit]

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survival. United States of America: Penguin Books.ISBN 0140216898.

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No. 9 (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Solna, Sweden: Oxford University

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Extraordinary Life of Hun Sen. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte

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Singapore: Graham Brash. ISBN 9812180869.

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States of America: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1639-1.

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Communication–Royal University of Phnom Penh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August

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Norodom Sihanouk (Khmer: នេ�ត�ម សហីនុ; 31 October 1922 – 15 October 2012) was the King of

Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004. Also affectionately known as Samdech

Euv (Khmer: សេម�ចឪ) to theCambodian people, Sihanouk ascended to the throne in 1941. After

theSecond World War, he campaigned for the independence of Cambodia fromFrench rule, which

came true in 1953. In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated the throne in favour of his father Norodom Suramarit,

and went on to form theSangkum, a political organisation. Sihanouk led the Sangkum to win the1955

general elections, and became the Prime Minister of Cambodia. When Suramarit died in 1960,

Sihanouk introduced a constitutional amendmentwhich made him the Head of State of Cambodia, a

position which he held until 1970. Between 1955 and 1970, Sihanouk pursued a policy of neutralityfor

Cambodia. As he forged close ties with Communist countries, in particular China, this incurred the

suspicions of the United States (US) and its anti-Communist allies. Sihanouk maintained tenacious ties

with the US and their allies, as they engaged in various activities which Sihanouk perceived as attempts

to undermine his rule.

In March 1970, Sihanouk was overthrown as the Head of State by Lon Noland Sisowath Sirik Matak,

paving the way for the formation of the Khmer Republic. He fled to China and North Korea and went on

to form a government in exile, known as the Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea

(GRUNK) as well as a resistance movement, the National United Front of Kampuchea. As the leader of

GRUNK, Sihanouk lent his support to the Khmer Rouge which led to their victory against the Khmer

Republic in April 1975. Sihanouk subsequently returned to Cambodia and became the figurehead Head

of State of Democratic Kampuchea by the Khmer Rouge. In 1976, Sihanouk resigned from his position

which led to him being placed under house arrest until 1979 when Vietnamese forcesoverthrew the

Khmer Rouge. Sihanouk went into exile again, and in 1981 he formed FUNCINPEC, a resistance party.

The following year in 1982, Sihanouk was appointed as the President of the Coalition Government of

Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), consisting of the three anti-Vietnamese resistance factions including

FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF).

In the late 1980s, informal talks were carried out to end hostilities between the People's Republic of

Kampuchea (PRK) and resistance factions under the CGDK. A transitional body to oversee Cambodian

affairs, the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC) was formed in 1990 which saw Sihanouk

appointed as its President. The following year in 1991, peace accords were signed which led to the

creation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). The UNTAC

organised general elections in 1993, which led to the formation of a coalition government jointly led by

his son Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen. Sihanouk was reinstated as the Head of State of Cambodia

in June 1993. When a permanentconstitution was promolugated in September 1993, Sihanouk was

made the King of Cambodia for a second time. In 2004, Sihanouk abdicated again in favour of another

son, Norodom Sihamoni who succeeded him as king. He subsequently became known as the King

Father until his death in 2012. Sihanouk pursued an artistic career during his lifetime, and wrote several

musical compositions. He was also known to be a film producer, director and actor, and produced a

total of 50 films between 1966 and 2006.

Contents [hide]

• 1Early life and first reign • 2Sangkum era

o 2.1Premiership (1955–1960) o 2.2Initial years as Head of State (1960–1965) o 2.3Continued leadership as Head of State (1966–1970)

• 3Deposition, GRUNK and Khmer Rouge years • 4FUNCINPEC and CGDK years • 5UNTAC administration era • 6Second reign • 7Abdication and final years • 8Death and funeral • 9Artistic works

o 9.1Film-making o 9.2Music

• 10Titles and styles • 11Personal life

o 11.1Family o 11.2Ancestry

• 12References • 13Bibliography

o 13.1Books o 13.2Reports

Early life and first reign[edit]

Norodom Sihanouk in his coronation regalia, November 1941

Sihanouk was the only child born of the union between Norodom Suramarit and Sisowath

Kossamak.[1]He received his primary education at the Francois Baudoin school and Nuon Moniram

school, and subsequently pursued his secondary education in Saigon at Lycée Chasseloup

Laubat.[2] When his maternal grandfather Sisowath Monivong, died on 23 April 1941, the Crown Council

appointed Sihanouk as King of Cambodia the following day.[3] Subsequently, his coronation took place

on 3 May 1941.[4] During the Japanese occupation of Cambodia, he dedicated most of his time to

sports, filming and the occasional tour to the countryside.[5] In March 1945, the Japanese military which

had occupied Cambodia from August 1941 dissolved the nominal French colonial administration. Under

pressure from the Japanese, Sihanouk proclaimed Cambodia's independence[6] and assumed the

position of Prime Minister while serving as king at the same time.[7]

As Prime Minister, Sihanouk revoked a decree issued by the last resident superior of Cambodia,

Georges Gautier to romanise the Khmer alphabet.[8]Following the Surrender of Japan in August 1945,

nationalist forces loyal toSon Ngoc Thanh launched a coup which led to the latter's appointment as

Prime Minister.[9] When the French returned to Cambodia in October 1945, Thanh was deposed from

his position and was replaced by Sihanouk's uncleSisowath Monireth.[10] Monireth negotiated for greater

autonomy of internal affairs within Cambodia. A Modus Vivendi was signed in January 1946 whereby

Cambodia was granted full autonomy within the French Union.[11] A joint French-Cambodian commission

was set up after that to write Cambodia's constitution,[12] and in April 1946, Sihanouk introduced clauses

which provided for an elected parliament on the basis of universal male suffrage as well as press

freedom.[13] The first constitution was signed into effect by Sihanouk in May 1947.[14] Around this time,

Sihanouk made two trips to Saumur, France where he undertook military training at theArmoured

Cavalry Branch Training School in 1946 and again in 1948. At the end of the training, Sihanouk was

made a reserve captain for the French army.[15]

In early 1949, Sihanouk travelled to Paris with his parents to negotiate with the French government for

more autonomy over Cambodia, leading to the implementation of a new Franco-Khmer treaty that

cancelled the Modus Vivendi previously signed in 1946.[16] Later in September 1949, Sihanouk

dissolved the National Assembly and ruled by decree[17] until September 1951 when the Democrat

Party pressured Sihanouk to hold national elections.[18] Sihanouk travelled to France in February 1953,

and wrote twice to then-French President Vincent Auriol to cede control over all remaining executive

powers in Cambodia by citing on widespread anti-French sentiment among the Cambodian

populace.[19] Auriol responded by appointing the French commissioner for overseas territories, Jean

Letourneau to meet with Sihanouk. When Letourneau rejected Sihanouk's suggestion, the latter

travelled to Canada and United States (US) where he exploited on the prevailing anti-

communist sentiments to call for Cambodian independence. According to Sihanouk, Cambodia faced a

Communist threat similar to that of the Viet Minh in Vietnam and the solution to address the Communist

threat was full independence for Cambodia.[20]

Sihanouk returned to Cambodia in June 1953, taking up residence in Siem Reap.[21] He organised

public rallies calling for Cambodians to fight for independence, and formed a citizenry militia which

attracted around 130,000 recruits.[22] In August 1953, France agreed to cede control over judicial

andinterior affairs to Cambodia, while another further agreement was secured in October 1953 which

saw France surrendering control over defense matters. At the end of the month, Sihanouk returned to

Phnom Penh,[23] where he declared Cambodia's independence from France on 9 November 1953.[21] In

May 1954, Sihanouk sent Nhiek Tioulong and Tep Phan to participate in the Geneva

Conference.[24] The agreements signed for Cambodia reaffirmed the country's independence, and also

allowed it to seek military aid from any country without restrictions. At the same time, Sihanouk still

faced domestic opposition from the Democrat Party[25] which dominated the National Assembly and

were unhappy with Sihanouk's political activism.[18] In February 1955, Sihanouk held a national

referendum to gauge public approval ratings on his efforts in seeking national independence, which

returned with 99.8 percent of the electorate expressing approval.[26]

Sangkum era[edit]

Main article: Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970)

Premiership (1955–1960) [edit]

Meeting in Beijing in 1956: from left Mao Zedong, Peng Zhen, Sihanouk, Liu Shaoqi.

On 2 March 1955, Sihanouk abdicated from the throne,[21][27] and the royal throne council nominated his

father, Suramarit to succeed him.[28] A month later, Sihanouk decided to enter politics, and announced

the formation of theSangkum, a political organisation which he headed. Several political parties

including the Khmer Renovation Party, People's Party[29] and the Liberal Party subsequently dissolved

and merged themselves with the Sangkum.[30]At the same time, Sihanouk appointed Dap Chhuon, a

guerrilla leader based in Siem Reap to oversee the organisation of parliamentary elections slated to be

held in September 1955. With Sihanouk's approval, Chhuon intimidated politicians from the Democrat

Party and the Pracheachon, both of which had refused to merge with the

Sangkum.[31] When parliamentary elections were held in September 1955, the Sangkum received 83

percent of all valid votes, taking up all seats in the National Assembly.[32] The following month, Sihanouk

was appointed as Prime Minister.[33]

As Prime Minister, Sihanouk introduced several constitutional changes that included extending suffrage

to women, adopting Khmer as the sole official language of the country[34] and making Cambodia

a Constitutional monarchy by vesting policy making powers to the Prime Minister rather than to the

King.[35] He viewed socialism as an ideal concept in establishing social equality and fostering national

cohesion within newly-independent Cambodia. In March 1956, he embarked on a national programme

of "Buddhist socialism", espousing socialist principles on one hand while maintaining the need for

Cambodians to stay true to their Buddhist traditions.[36] Between 1955 and 1960, Sihanouk alternately

resigned and retook the Prime Minister post several times, citing fatigue caused by overwork as his

reason.[37] The National Assembly nominated experienced politicians such as Sim Var and San Yun to

become Prime Minister whenever Sihanouk took leave, but they similarly relinquished their posts each

time, after several months into their term,[38] as cabinet ministers repeatedly disputed over public policy

matters.[39]

In May 1955, Sihanouk accepted military aid from the United States (US),[40] but soon developed a

suspicious view towards it, when Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives attempted to coax him

into placing Cambodia underSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) protection when he was in

the Philippines on a state visit in January 1956.[41]He was also wary of the US attempting to destabilise

his government through its tacit support of the Democrat Party, which was later dissolved in 1957.[42] On

the other hand, Sihanouk struck up friendly ties with the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai when he first

visited the country in February 1956. They jointly signed a friendship treaty, which included a promise

by China to give US$40 million in economic aid to Cambodia.[43] When Sihanouk returned from China,

the Thai and South Vietnamese governments called him as a Communist ally, with the latter briefly

imposed an economic blockade which prevented trading ships from travelling up the Mekong river

to Phnom Penh.[44] While Sihanouk professed that he was pursuing a policy of neutrality, Sarit

Thanarat and Ngo Dinh Diem, the leaders of Thailand and South Vietnam who were respectively known

for their pro-American sympathies, distrusted Sihanouk, more so after he established formal diplomatic

relations with China in 1958.[45]

In December 1958, Ngo Dinh Nhu–Diem's younger brother and chief adviser, mooted the idea

of orchestrating a coup to overthrow Sihanouk.[46] Nhu contacted Dap Chhuon, Sihanouk's Interior

Minister who was known for his pro-American sympathies, to lead the coup attempt against his

boss.[47] To prepare for the coup, Chhuon was provided with covert financial and military assistance

from Thailand, South Vietnam and the CIA.[48] In January 1959, Sihanouk learnt of the coup plans

through his intermediaries who had contact with Chhuon.[49] The following month, Sihanouk sent the

army to capture Chhuon, who was summarily executed as soon as he was captured, effectively ending

the coup attempt.[50]Following Chhuon's execution, Sihanouk accused South Vietnam and the United

States of orchestrating the coup attempt.[51] Six months later on 31 August 1959, a small packaged

lacquer gift, which was fitted with a parcel bomb was delivered to the royal palace. Norodom Vakrivan,

the chief of protocol who opened the package, was killed instantly. Sihanouk's parents, Suramarit and

Kossamak were sitting in another room not far from Vakrivan, narrowly escaped unscathed. An

investigation was carried out and traced the origin of the parcel bomb being sent from an American

military base in Saigon.[52] While Sihanouk accused Ngo Dinh Nhu of masterminding the bomb attack,

the incident deepened his distrust of the US,[53] which he suspected that they had played a complicit role

in it.[54]

Initial years as Head of State (1960–1965) [edit]

Sihanouk with U.S. President John F. Kennedy in New York City on 25 September 1961.

Suramarit died on 3 April 1960 after suffering from several months of poor health,[55] which Sihanouk

attributed to the fright that his father received from the parcel bomb attack.[52] The following day, the

royal throne council met to choose Monireth as the Regent of Cambodia.[56] Over the next two months,

Sihanouk introduced constitutional amendments to create a new post of the Head of State of

Cambodia which provided ceremonial powers equivalent to that of the King. Areferendum was held on

5 June 1960 approved Sihanouk's proposals, and Sihanouk was formally appointed as the Head of

State on 14 June 1960.[57] As the Head of State, Sihanouk took over various ceremonial responsibilities

of the king, such as holding public audiences[58] and leading the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. At the

same time, he continued to play an active role in politics in his capacity as the President of the

Sangkum.[59]

Sometime in early 1962, political leaders from the Pracheachon, which was known for its left-wing

sympathies were cracked down by the police at Sihanouk's instructions. Its spokesman, Non Suon had

criticized Sihanouk a year earlier for failing to tackle inflation, unemployment and corruption issues,

arousing Sihanouk's ire.[60] In May 1962 Tou Samouth, the secretary-general of the Pracheachon

disappeared, which its ideological ally, the Communist Party of Kampuchea suspected that Samouth

was secretly captured and killed by the police.[61] At the same time, he co-opted politicians with left-wing

views including Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon, Hu Nim and Chau Seng into the Sangkum and allowed

them to stand for the parliamentary elections in June 1962, which they won.[62]

In November 1962, Sihanouk called on the US to stop supporting the Khmer Serei, which he believed

that they have had provided covert assistance through the CIA. He threatened to reject all economic aid

from the US if they failed to respond to his demands,[63] a decision which he put later to act on 19

November 1963.[64] At the same time, Sihanouk alsonationalised the country's entrepot trade, banking

sector and distillery industries.[65] He proceeded to establish the National Export-Import Corporation and

Statutory Board (SONEXIM), which was tasked to oversee policy and regulatory matters on the

country's entrepot trade.[66] Some three weeks later, on 9 December 1963, Sihanouk issued a

communique celebrating the deaths of Diem, Kennedy and Sarit. The US protested against Sihanouk's

communique, which Sihanouk responded by recalling Cambodian ambassador to the US, Nong Kimny

back home.[67]

In early 1964, Sihanouk signed a secret agreement with North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, which

allowed Chinese military aid destined for the latter to be delivered through the port of Sihanoukville. In

turn, the Cambodian army was allowed to skim off 10 percent of all military hardware shipped through

Cambodia, in addition to collecting payments for transporting food supplies to Viet Cong resistance

bases.[68] Sihanouk also allowed the Viet Cong to build a trail through eastern Cambodia to allow Viet

Cong troops to receive war supplies from North Vietnam, which became known as the Sihanouk

Trail.[69] When the US learnt of Vietcong presence in eastern Cambodia, they started a bombing

campaign in this region,[70] which spurned Sihanouk to sever diplomatic ties with the US in May

1965.[69] Other Communist countries including China, Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia provided

military aid to Cambodia as Sihanouk's became friendlier withNorth Vietnam.[71]

Continued leadership as Head of State (1966–1970) [edit]

Norodom Sihanouk in 1967.

In September 1966, general elections were held,[72] which led to many Sangkum nominees

with conservative and right-wing sympathies to be elected to the National Assembly. The newly elected

legislators nominated Lon Nol to become Prime Minister. Lon Nol's was known for his conservative and

right-wing views, and his nomination did not sit well with Sihanouk.[73] In response, Sihanouk set up

a shadow government in October 1966, made up of Sangkum legislators with left-wing sympathies to

counterbalance right-wing influences.[74] At the end of the month, Lon Nol offered to resign from his

position, which Sihanouk rejected.[75] In April 1967, fighting broke out between government troops and

local peasants in Samlaut,Battambang Province.[76] The fighting, which became known as the Samlaut

Uprisingwas quickly put down,[77] but Sihanouk soon developed a suspicion that three left-wing

legislators–Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon and Hu Nim had incited the rebellion.[78]When Sihanouk

threatened to charge Khieu Samphan and Hou Yuon before a military tribunal, both of them fled into the

jungle and joined Khmer Rouge.[79]

Lon Nol resigned as Prime Minister at the beginning of May 1967, and Sihanouk appointed Son Sann in

his place.[78] At the same time, Sihanouk replaced conservative-leaning ministers appointed by Lon Nol

with technocrats and left-leaning politicians, calling it an "Exceptional Government".[79] In the later part of

the month, Sihanouk accused China of supporting local Chinese Cambodians in engaging in

"contraband" and "subversive" activities,[80] as the Chinese embassy in Cambodia had published and

distributed Communist propaganda to the Cambodian populace appraising the Cultural Revolution,

causing much consternation to Sihanouk.[81] Subsequently, Sihanouk sent his Foreign

Minister, Norodom Phurissara to China in August 1967, who made a failed attempt to urge Zhou Enlai

in stopping the Chinese embassy for disseminating Communist propaganda.[82] In response, Sihanouk

closed the Cambodia-Chinese Friendship Association in September 1967. When the Chinese

government protested Sihanouk's action,[83] he followed up by threatening to close the Chinese

embassy in Cambodia as well.[84] Subsequently, Zhou Enlai stepped in to placate Sihanouk,[85] and

condescended by instructing its embassy to send its publications to Cambodia's Information Ministry for

vetting prior to distribution.[84]

Sihanouk subsequently pursued rapprochement with the US, starting in October 1967 when he hosted

a private visit ofJacqueline Kennedy to Cambodia.[86] The following January, Sihanouk met with the US

ambassador to India Chester Bowles, where he tacitly acknowledged the presence of Viet Cong troops

in the Cambodia, and allowed US forces to enter Cambodia in attacking Viet Cong

forces.[87] Subsequently, the US launched Operation Menu in March 1969, and its planes bombed parts

of eastern Cambodia. The bombing campaign prompted Viet Cong forced to flee from their sanctuaries

in the jungles, seeking refuge in populated towns and villages of the Cambodian countryside.[88] As a

result of the bombing campaign, Sihanouk became concerned with the prospect of Cambodia getting

drawn into the Vietnam War. In June 1969, he extended diplomatic recognition to the Provisional

Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRGSV),[89] with the hope of keeping the

scale Operation Menu in check. At the same time, he also openly admitted the presence of Viet Cong

troops in Cambodia for the first time in April 1969,[90] prompting the US to restore formal diplomatic

relations with Cambodia three months later.[91]

In January 1969, Sihanouk opened two casinos in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville,[92] at a time when the

Cambodian economy was facing stagnation and systemic corruption.[93] While the casinos generated

revenues that accounted up to 700 million riels for the state budget, it also caused a sharp increase in

the number of bankrupts and suicide incidences.[92] In August 1969, Lon Nol was reappointed as the

Prime Minister, with Sisowath Sirik Matak appointed as his deputy. Two months later, Lon Nol left

Cambodia in October to seek medical treatment, leaving Sirik Matak to lead the government. Between

October and December 1969, Sirik Matak instituted several policy changes that ran contrary to

Sihanouk's wishes, such as allowing private banks to re-open in the country and devaluing the riel. He

also encouraged ambassadors to write to Lon Nol directly, instead of going through Sihanouk, angering

the latter.[94] In early January 1970, Sihanouk left Cambodia for medical treatment in France.[95] Shortly

after Sihanouk left, Sirik Matak took the opportunity to close down the casinos.[96]

Deposition, GRUNK and Khmer Rouge years[edit]

Sihanouk visiting Romania in 1972, with Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu(right)..

On 11 March 1970, demonstrations occurred outside the North Vietnamese and PRGSV embassies.

The demonstrators looted and sacked both embassies, alarming Sihanouk who was still in

Paris.[97] Sihanouk made up his mind to visit Moscow, Beijing and Hanoi, with a view of pressuring state

leaders into getting Viet Cong forces to return to their sanctuaries in the underpopulated forests of

northeast Cambodia, where they had originally established themselves between 1964 till 1969.[98] Five

days later Oum Mannorine, the half-brother of Sihanouk's wife Monique, was summoned to the National

Assembly over corruption charges.[99] On the same night after the hearing, Mannorine ordered troops

under his command to arrest Lon Nol and Sirik Matak, but ended up getting arrested by Lon Nol's

troops. On 18 March 1970, the National Assembly voted to depose Sihanouk,[100] and allowed Lon Nol to

assume emergency powers.[101]

On the day of his overthrow, Sihanouk was in Moscow and the Soviet foreign minister Alexei Kosygin,

first informed him of the news.[102] From Moscow, Sihanouk flew to Beijing where he was received by

Zhou Enlai. Zhou arranged for the North Vietnamese Prime Minister, Pham Van Dong to fly to Beijing

from Hanoi and meet with Sihanouk.[103] Both Zhou and Dong encouraged Sihanouk to rebel against Lon

Nol and promised to give the latter military and financial support. On 23 March 1970, Sihanouk

announced the formation of his resistance movement, the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK)

and encouraged the Cambodian people to join him in fighting against Lon Nol's

government.[104] Sometime later on 5 May 1970, Sihanouk announced the formation of a government-in-

exile known as Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea (GRUNK) and led Communist

countries including China, North Vietnam, and North Korea to break relations with the Lon Nol

regime.[105] In Phnom Penh, a military trial convened on 2 July 1970, whereby Sihanouk was charged

with treason and corruption in his capacity as Head of State. After a three-day trial, the judges ruled that

Sihanouk guilty of the charges and sentenced to him death, in absentia on 5 July 1970.[106]

Sihanouk alternately lived in Beijing and Pyongyang between 1970 and 1975, where he lived in state

guesthouses.[107] In February 1973, Sihanouk travelled to Hanoi where he started on a long journey with

Khieu Samphan and other Khmer Rouge leaders. The convoy traveled along the Ho Chi Minh trail and

reached the Cambodian border at Stung Treng Province the following month. Sihanouk travelled across

the provinces of Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, and Siem Reap. Throughout his visit, Sihanouk faced

constant bombardment from American planes participating in Operation Freedom Deal.[108] At Siem

Reap, Sihanouk visited the temples of Angkor Wat, Banteay Srei, and Bayon.[109] In August 1973, Sirik

Matak wrote an open letter to call Sihanouk to bring the Cambodian Civil War to an end and accepting

the possibility of the latter returning to the country. When the letter reached Sihanouk, he angrily

rejected Sirik Matak's advances.[110]

When the Khmer Republic fell to the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, Sihanouk was nominated to the

symbolic position as the Head of State for the Khmer Rouge regime, officially known as Democratic

Kampuchea.[111] He continued to live in Beijing until September 1975[112] when he returned to Cambodia

so as to inter the ashes of Queen Kossamak, who had died in Beijing just days after the Fall of Phnom

Penh.[113] He subsequently went abroad to recommend the diplomatic recognition of Democratic

Kampuchea, and visited several Communist countries[114] before returning to Cambodia on 31

December 1975. After presiding a meeting to endorse the constitution of the Democratic

Kampuchea,[115] Sihanouk was taken on a tour across Cambodia by Khieu Samphan the following

month, whereby he witnessed the effects of theCambodian genocide orchestrated by the Angkar.

Following the tour, Sihanouk decided to resign from his position as the head of state.[116] The Angkar

initially rejected his resignation request, though they subsequently accepted it in mid-April 1976, which

they retroactively backdated the resignation to 2 April 1976.[117]

From this point of time onwards, Sihanouk was kept under house arrest at the royal palace until

September 1978, when he was relocated to another apartment within Phnom Penh where he stayed

until the end of the year.[118] Throughout his entire period of confinement, Sihanouk made several

requests to travel overseas to the Angkar, which were all turned down.[119] On New Year's Day of 1979,

Sihanouk was taken from Phnom Penh to Sisophon, where they stayed for three days until 5 January

when they were taken back to Phnom Penh.[120] Sihanouk was taken to meet Pol Pot, who apprised him

of the Angkar's plans to repulse Vietnamese troops who have invaded parts of eastern Cambodia since

December 1978.[121] On 6 January 1979, Sihanouk flew to Beijing from Phnom Penh, where he was

greeted by Zhou Enlai's successor, Deng Xiaoping.[122] Three days later, Sihanouk flew from Beijing to

New York to attend the UN Security Council, where he simultaneously condemned the Khmer Rouge

for orchestrating the Cambodian genocide as well as theVietnamese occupation of

Cambodia.[123] Sihanouk subsequently sought asylum in China after making two unsuccessful asylum

applications with the US and France.[124]

FUNCINPEC and CGDK years[edit]

Sihanouk (right) accompanied by his son, Norodom Ranariddh on an ANS inspection tour during the 1980s.

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[125] with Vietnam's influence over the PRK government. Deng proposed to Sihanouk to co-

operate with the Khmer Rouge to overthrow the PRK government, an idea which Sihanouk

rejected[126] as he was against the genocidal policies pursued by the Khmer Rouge, while they were in

power.[125] In March 1981, Sihanouk established a resistance movement,FUNCINPEC together with a

small resistance army known as the ANS (Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste).[127] He appointed In Tam,

who had briefly served as the Prime Minister of the Khmer Republic, as the Commander-in-chief of the

ANS.[128]Around this time, Sihanouk started tripartite talks between FUNCINPEC with the Khmer Rouge

and the Son Sann-led Khmer People's National Liberation Front(KPNLF)[129] as Deng pressured him to

collaborate with the Khmer Rouge as a precondition to receiving military aid for ANS.[130]

After several rounds of tripartite talks, Sihanouk presided over the establishment of a government exile,

known as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea(CGDK) in June 1982.[130] The CGDK

consisted of FUNCINPEC, KPNLF and the Khmer Rouge, and China mediated additional tripartite talks

between the three CGDK factions between 1982 and 1987, but was unable to bring progress to ending

the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.[131] During this period of time, Sihanouk appointed two of his

sons, Norodom Chakrapong and Norodom Ranariddh, to leading roles in the ANS. Chakrapong was

appointed as the deputy chief-of-staff for the ANS in March 1985,[132] while Ranariddh was minted to the

twin positions of commander-in-chief and the chief-of-staff of the ANS in January 1986, replacing In

Tam.[133] In December 1987, the Prime Minister of the PRK government, Hun Sen first met with

Sihanouk to discuss about the ending of the protracted Cambodian–Vietnamese War.[134] The following

July, the then-foreign minister of Indonesia, Ali Alatas brokered the first series of discussion known as

the Jakarta Informal Meetings (JIM). The JIMs were held near Jakarta, and involved the four warring

Cambodian factions consisting of FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge, KPNLF and the PRK government over

the future of Cambodia.[135]

Two more rounds of JIMs were held in February and May 1989. After which in July 1989, Ali Alatas

together with French foreign minister Roland Dumas, convened the Paris Peace Conference to discuss

plans for Vietnamese troop withdrawal and power sharing arrangements for a future Cambodian

government.[135] The following month, Sihanouk resigned as president of FUNCINPEC,[136] but remained

in the party as an ordinary member.[137] In September 1990, the United Nations (UN) sponsored the

establishment of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), an administrative body responsible

for overseeing sovereign affairs of Cambodia for an interim period until UN-sponsored elections are

held.[138]The creation of the SNC was subsequently ratified with United Nations Security Council

Resolution 668.[139] In July 1991, Sihanouk left FUNCINPEC altogether, and was elected as the

chairperson of the SNC.[140]

UNTAC administration era[edit]

The Paris Peace Accords were signed on 23 October 1991, which gave formal recognition to the SNC

and also provided for the creation a transitional government of Cambodia, known as the United Nations

Transitional Authority in Cambodia(UNTAC).[141] The accords empowered the UNTAC to station

peacekeeping troops in Cambodia to supervise the disarmament of the four warring Cambodian

factions and carry out free and fair national elections in the country.[142]Sihanouk returned to Phnom

Penh on 14 November 1991, and city folks lined the streets of Phnom Penh as he rode in an open top

limousine with Hun Sen to celebrate his return to the country.[143] The UNTAC administration was

established in February 1992, but soon faced resistance from the Khmer Rouge in enforcing

peacekeeping operations.[144] Sihanouk responded by calling to abandon the Khmer Rouge from the

peacekeeping process in July and September 1992. During this period of time, Sihanouk spent most of

the time in Siem Reap and making helicopter trips to supervise election preparations in KPNLF,

FUNCINPEC and Khmer Rouge resistance bases.[145]

Sihanouk left Cambodia for Beijing in November 1992,[146] where he would stay on for the next six

months until he returned to Cambodia on the eve of elections in May 1993.[147] While in Beijing,

Sihanouk proposed a Presidential systemgovernment for Cambodia to then-UN secretary-

general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, but soon dropped the idea after the Khmer Rouge opposed his

proposal.[148] The general elections were held in May 1993, with FUNCINPEC headed by Sihanouk's

son Norodom Ranariddh garnering the most votes while the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) headed

by Hun Sen came in second.[149] CPP leaders were unhappy with the election results and on 3 June

1993, Hun Sen and Chea Sim called on Sihanouk to assume all state power. Sihanouk complied, and

announced the formation of a Provisional National Government (PRG) headed by him with Hun Sen

and Ranariddh as his deputies.[150] Ranariddh was not informed of Sihanouk's plans, and joined

the Australia, China, United Kingdom and United States in opposing the PRG plan. Sihanouk dropped

the PRG plan the following day through a national radio broadcast.[151]

On 14 June 1993, a constituent assembly session presided by Ranariddh nullified the 1970 coup d'état

which overthrew Sihanouk, and reinstated the latter as Cambodia's Head of State.[152] In the first few

days of his appointment, Sihanouk renamed the Cambodian military to its pre-1970 namesake,

the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. On 29 June 1993, Sihanouk issued another order to officially

rename the country from the State of Cambodia to simply "Cambodia". He also reinstated Nokor

Reach as the National Anthem of Cambodia with some minor modifications to its lyrics, and also

theCambodian flag to its pre-1970 design.[153] Sihanouk also appointed Ranariddh and Hun Sen as the

Co-Prime Ministers of Cambodia with equal powers in a provisional government,[154] which was ratified

by the Constituent Assembly on 2 July 1993.[152] On 30 August 1993,[155] Ranariddh and Hun Sen met

Sihanouk presented two draft constitutions, one of them stipulating a constitutional monarchy headed

by a King and another a republican state led by a Head of State. Sihanouk chose the option of making

Cambodia a constitutional monarchy,[156] and was ratified by the constituent assembly on 21 September

1993.[157]

Second reign[edit]

Sihanouk granting an audience to US ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn in March 1996.

The new constitution was proclaimed on 24 September 1993, and Sihanouk was reinstated as the King

of Cambodia.[158] A permanent coalition government was formed between FUNCINPEC, CPP and

BLDP, with Ranariddh and Hun Sen assuming the positions of First and Second Prime Ministers

respectively.[159] Shortly after that, Sihanouk took leave to Beijing where he spent several months for

cancer treatment.[160] In April 1994, Sihanouk returned to Cambodia,[161] and the following month, he

publicly called for the government to hold fresh elections and appoint Khmer Rouge representatives into

the government. Both Ranariddh and Hun Sen rejected his suggestions,[162][163] but Sihanouk pressed on,

further proposing a national unity government that would see the participation of FUNCINPEC, CPP

and Khmer Rouge forces, with him as the Head of State and government.[164] Again, both Prime

Ministers rejected Sihanouk's proposal, citing Khmer Rouge's past intransigent attitude would make the

proposal unrealistic.[165][166] Sihanouk became very frustrated at the rejections, lamenting that the two

Prime Ministers have been ignoring him. As Norodom Sirivudh[167] and Julio Jeldres, his younger half-

brother and official biographer respectively saw it, this was a clear sign that the monarchy's ability to

exert control over national affairs had diminished, vis-a-vis the Prime Ministers.[168]

In July 1994, one of his sons Norodom Chakrapong led a failed coup attempt to topple the

government.[169] Following the coup attempt, Chakrapong took refuge in a hotel in Phnom Penh, but

government troops soon discovered his hideout and surrounded the hotel. Chakrapong contacted

Sihanouk, who negotiated with the government to allow his son to go into exile in Malaysia.[170] The

following November, Sirivudh was accused of plotting to assassinate Hun Sen and imprisoned.

Sihanouk intervened to have Sirivudh be detained at the interior ministry's headquarters, convinced that

there was a secret plan to kill the latter if he were to remain in prison.[171] After Sirivudh was relocated to

the interior ministry's headquarters, Sihanouk appealed to Hun Sen, requesting that Sirivudh be allowed

to go into exile in France, who then accepted his offer.[172]

Relations between the two co-Prime Ministers, Ranariddh and Hun Sen started to deteriorate from

March 1996,[173] when the former accused the CPP of repeatedly delaying the allocation process of low-

level government posts to FUNCINPECs.[174] Ranariddh threatened to pull out of the coalition

government[175] and hold national elections in the same year if his demands were not met,[176] stoking

unease from Hun Sen and other CPP officials.[176] The following month, Sihanouk presided over a

meeting between some royal family members and senior FUNCINPEC officials in Paris. Sihanouk

attempted to tone down the tensions between FUNCINPEC and the CPP by assuring that FUNCINPEC

would not leave the coalition government nor were there no reactionary elements to bring down Hun

Sen or the CPP after the meeting.[177] In March 1997, Sihanouk stated his willingness to abdicate the

throne, claiming that the rising anti-royalist sentiment among the populace was threatening the

monarchy's existence.[178] Sihanouk's comments provoked a sharp response from Hun Sen, who tersely

warned that he would introduce constitutional amendments to prohibit members of the royal family from

participating in politics.[179] As Widyono saw it, Sihanouk remained popular with the Cambodian

electorate, and Hun Sen feared that should he abdicate and subsequently enter politics, he would win

in any future elections, thereby undercutting CPP's political clout.[178]

In July 1997, violent clashes erupted in Phnom Penh between infantry forces separately allied to the

CPP and FUNCINPEC, which effectively led to Ranariddh's ouster after FUNCINPEC forces were

defeated.[180] Sihanouk voiced displeasure against Hun Sen for orchestrating the clashes, but refrained

from calling Ranariddh's ouster a "coup d'etat", a term which FUNCINPEC members used.[181] When the

National Assembly elected Ung Huot as the First Prime Minister to replace Ranariddh on 6 August

1997,[182] Sihanouk charged that Ranariddh's ouster was illegal and renewed his offer to abdicate the

throne, a plan which did not materialise.[183] In September 1998, Sihanouk meditated political talks

in Siem Reap after the FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) staged demonstrations against

the CPP-led government for irregularities over the 1998 general elections. The talks broke down at the

end of the month, after Hun Sen narrowly escaped an assassination attempt which he accused Sam

Rainsy of masterminding the attack.[184] Two months later in November 1998, Sihanouk brokered a

second round of political talks between the CPP and FUNCINPEC,[185] whereby an agreement was

reached for another coalition government between the CPP and FUNCINPEC.[184]

Sihanouk maintained a monthly bulletin, which he wrote commentaries over governance issues and

posted photo souvenirs of Cambodia in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 1997, a character known by the

name of "Ruom Rith" started to appear in the monthly bulletin and became extremely critical of Hun

Sen and the government. Hun Sen reportedly became extremely unhappy with the commentaries, and

called on the king to stop publishing the commentaries on two occasions in 1998 and

2003.[186][187] According to Ranariddh, Ruom Rith was an alter ego of Sihanouk, a claim which the latter

vehemently denies.[188] In July 2002, Sihanouk expressed concern over the absence of detailed

constitutional provisions over the organisation and functioning of the Cambodian throne

council.[189] When Hun Sen rejected Sihanouk concern, the latter issued a letter in September 2002

threatening to abdicate so as to force the throne council to convene and elect a new monarch.[190]

General elections were held again in July 2003, whereby the CPP won the most votes but failed to

secure two-thirds of all parliamentary seats as required by the constitution to form a new government.

The two runner-up parties of the election, FUNCINPEC and SRP[191] filed complaints over alleged

electoral irregularities with the Constitutional Council, which were turned down in August 2003.[192] When

they announced their decision to boycott the swearing in ceremony of parliamentarians, Sihanouk

attempted to pressure both parties to change their decision, threatening to abstain from presiding the

ceremony if they did not follow through his wishes.[193] The Constitutional Council subsequently advised

Sihanouk to preside over the swearing-in ceremony,[194] which was held later in October 2003 with

Sihanouk presiding over the ceremony.[195] The CPP, FUNCINPEC and SRP held additional talks into

2004 and Sihanouk proposed a tripartite unity government consisting of the three political parties, which

was rejected by Hun Sen and Ranariddh. At the same time, political stalemate persisted until June

2004 due to conflicting demands from the three political parties.[196][197]

Abdication and final years[edit]

On 6 July 2004, Sihanouk penned an open letter in stating his intention to abdicate, after expressing

unhappiness at being ignored by Hun Sen and Ranariddh in his attempts to broker the political

stalemate. At the same time, Hun Sen and Ranariddh had agreed to introduce a constitutional

amendment that provided for an open voting system, which requires parliamentarians to select cabinet

ministers and the President of the National Assembly by a show of hands. Sihanouk disapproved of the

open voting system, and called on Senate President Chea Sim not to sign the amendment. When Chea

Sim heeded his advice, he was ferried out of the country shortly before the National Assembly

convened to vote on the amendment 15 July.[198] A new coalition government was formed on the 17 July

2004 between the CPP and FUNCINPEC, while the SRP remained as an opposition party.[199] On 6

October 2004, Sihanouk wrote a letter calling for the throne council to convene and select a successor.

The National Assembly and Senate held emergency meetings to pass laws allowing for the abdication

of the monarch, and on 14 October the throne council unanimously voted to select Norodom Sihamoni

as Sihanouk's successor.[200] Sihamoni was crowned as the King of Cambodia on 29 October 2004.[201]

In March 2005, Sihanouk expressed concerns over allegations of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam of

delineating borders at the expense of Cambodian territory. Two months later, Sihanouk formed the

Supreme National Council on Border Affairs (SNCBA) to address concerns over Cambodian borders

with its neighbours, and appointed himself as the chairman.[201]The SRP and Chea Sim expressed

support for Sihanouk for the formation of the SNCBA, while Hun Sen formed a separate body, National

Authority on Border Affairs (NABA) to deal with border concerns and stated that the SNCBA may only

serve as an advisory body.[202] In October 2005, Sihanouk dissolved the SNCBA, around the same time

Hun Sen signed a border treaty with Vietnam.[203] In August 2007, a US based human rights NGO called

for Sihanouk's State immunity to be lifted, so as to allow him to testify in the Extraordinary Chambers in

the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).[204]Sihanouk responded to the call by inviting the ECCC public affairs

officer, Peter Foster for a discussion session on his personal experience under the Khmer Rouge

regime.[205] Both Hun Sen and FUNCINPEC criticized the suggestion, with the latter calling the NGO as

disrespectful to Sihanouk.[204] The ECCC subsequently rejected his invitation.[206]

The following year, bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia became strained due

to overlapping claims of the land area surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple. Sihanouk issued a

communique in July 2008 to emphasise the Khmer architecture of the temple as well as ICJ's 1962

ruling of the temple in favour of Cambodia.[207] In August 2009, Sihanouk stated that he would stop

posting messages on his personal website due to his advancing age, which made it difficult for him to

keep up with his personal duties.[208] Sihanouk spent most of his time in Beijing for medical treatment.

He made a final public appearance in Phnom Penh on his 89th birthday and 20th anniversary of the

Paris Peace Accords on 30 October 2011. Thereafter, Sihanouk expressed his intent to stay in

Cambodia indefinitely,[209] but returned to Beijing in January 2012 for further medical treatment at the

advise of his Chinese doctors.[210]

Death and funeral[edit]

Main article: Death and state funeral of Norodom Sihanouk

Funeral procession of King Norodom Sihanouk.

In January 2012, Sihanouk issued a letter to express his wish to be cremated following his death, and

to place his ashes in a golden urn.[211] A few months later in September 2012, Sihanouk stated his intent

not to return to Cambodia from Beijing for his 90th birthday, citing fatigue as the reason.[212] On 15

October 2012, Sihanouk died of a heart attack at 1.20 am, Phnom Penh time.[213] King Norodom

Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen led a delegation of officials to Beijing on the same day.[214] The

Cambodian government announced an official mourning period of 7 days between 17 October 2012

and 24 October 2012, and state flags were told to fly at one-third of the mast height. Two days later,

Sihanouk's body was brought back from Beijing on an Air China flight,[215] and about 1.2 million people

lined the streets from the airport to the royal palace to witness the return of Sihanouk's cortege.[216]

In late November 2012, Hun Sen announced plans for Sihanouk's funeral and cremation to be held in

February 2013. Sihanouk's body lay in state at the royal palace for[217] the next three months until the

funeral was held on 1 February 2013.[218] A 6,000 metre street procession was held, and Sihanouk's

body was subsequently kept at the royal crematorium until 4 February 2013 when his body was

cremated.[219] The following day, the royal family scattered some of Sihanouk's ashes into the Tonle

Sap river while the rest were kept in the palace's throne hall for about a year.[220] In October 2013, a

stupa featuring a bronze statue of Sihanouk was inaugurated next to the Independence Monument.[221]In

July 2014, Sihanouk's ashes were interred at the silver pagoda next to those of one of his daughters,

Kantha Bopha.[222]

Artistic works[edit]

Statue of Norodom Sihanouk in Phnom Penh.

Film-making [edit] Main article: Norodom Sihanouk filmography

Sihanouk produced about 50 films throughout his lifetime.[223] He developed an interest for the cinema

from a young age, which he attributed to frequent trips to the cinema with his parents.[1] Shortly after

becoming king in 1941, Sihanouk began experimenting with film-making,[224] and sent students to study

filmmaking in France.[225] When the film Lord Jim was released in 1965, Sihanouk became vexed with

the negative portrayal the film gave of Cambodia.[226] Sihanouk responded by producing his first feature

film, Apsara in 1966 which was marked with a positive portrayal of Cambodia. Sihanouk went on to

produce, direct and act in another eight more films between 1966 and 1969, and roped in members of

the royal family and military generals to star in his films.[227] Sihanouk had expressed that his films were

created with the intent of portraying Cambodia in a positive light,[228] and Australian historian Milton

Osborne also noted that the films were filled with Cold War[229] and nationalist propaganda

themes.[230] Sihanouk former adviser, Charles Meyer had that criticised his films created from the 1960s

were of amateurism standards, while the director of Reyum Institute, Ly Daravuth had similarly

commented in 2006 that his films lacked artistic qualities.[224]

In 1967, one of Sihanouk films, The Enchanted Forest obtained a nomination at the 5th Moscow

International Film Festival.[231] In 1968, Sihanouk launched the Phnom Penh International Film Festival,

which was later held for a second time as well in 1969. In both years, a special award category was

designated, the Golden Apsara Prize which Sihanouk became the only nominee and

winner.[230] Sihanouk stopped making films following his ouster in 1970, but started to produce films

again from 1987 onwards.[232] In 1997, Sihanouk received a special jury prize from the International Film

Festival of Moscow, and revealed that he received a budget ranging from $20,000 to $70,000 for each

of his film production from the Cambodian government. Six years later in 2004, Sihanouk donated his

film archives to the École française d'Extrême-Orient in France and Monash

University in Australia.[224] Sihanouk produced his last film, Miss Asina in 2006,[225] and went on to state

that he was ending all film production activities four years later in May 2010.[233]

Music [edit]

Sihanouk wrote at least 48 musical compositions between the late 1940s until the early 1970s,[234] which

combined elements of traditional Khmer and Western music.[235] From the 1940s until the 1960s,

Sihanouk's compositions were mostly based on sentimental, romantic and patriotic themes. Sihanouk's

romantic songs were reflected the numerous romantic relations that he had experienced, particularly to

that of his wife Monique,[236] and compositions including "My Darling" and "Monica" were dedicated to

her. His patriotic compositions were written with a view to highlight the positive aspects of particular

places, and at the same time foster a sense of patriotism and national unity in the Cambodian people.

Notable compositions, such as "Flower of Battambang", "Beauty of Kep City", "Phnom Kulen", and

"Phnom Penh" were written with patriotic themes. A few of his other compositions, including "Luang

Prabang", "Nostalgia of China" and "Goodbye Bogor" were sentimental songs[237] about neighbouring

countries including Laos, Indonesia and China.[238]

Following his overthrow as the head of state in 1970, Sihanouk wrote several revolutionary-style

songs[239] that praised the leaders of Communist countries, including "Hommage Khmer au Maréchal

Kim Il Sung" and "Merci, Piste Ho Chi Minh". Sihanouk's revolutionary-style songs were written as a

reflection of his gratitude to the Communist leaders, which had supported his GRUNK between 1970

and 1975.[240] From a young age,[1] Sihanouk learnt to play several musical instruments such as the

clarinet, saxophone, piano and accordion[231] Sihanouk led a musical band in the 1960s consisting

members of the royal family, who would perform French songs and his own personal compositions to

diplomats at the royal palace.[241] In his tours across Cambodian provinces, Sihanouk was accompanied

by the royal military orchestra and Cambodian pop singers.[238] Later as Sihanouk lived in exile during

the 1980s, Sihanouk hosted concerts to entertain diplomats whenever he was in New York City to visit

the United Nations Headquarters.[242] After he was reinstated as king in 1993, Sihanouk continued to

perform in concerts held at the royal palace on an occasional basis.[243]

Titles and styles[edit]

See also: List of honours received by Norodom Sihanouk

Styles of

King Norodom Sihanouk

Reference style His Majesty

Spoken style Your Majesty

Alternative style Sir

Sihanouk was known by many state and political titles throughout his lifetime,[244] and the Guinness

Book of World Records identifies Sihanouk as the royal who has served the greatest variety of state

and political offices.[245] When Sihanouk was crowned as the King of Cambodia in 1941, he was

bestowed with the official title of "Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman", which he

used for both reigns between 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004.[4] He subsequently reverted to

the title of Prince following his abdication from the throne in 1955, and was bestowed the title of

"Samdech Preah Upayuvareach" by his father and successor in 1955,[21] which translates as "The

Prince who has been King" in English.[246]Starting from the early 1960s when he became the Head of

State,[247] Sihanouk was affectionately known as "Samdech Euv" to most Cambodians,[248] ("Samdech

Euv" is a Khmer title which translates as the Prince Father in English.)[245]

In 2004, Sihanouk became known as the King Father of Cambodia,[249] with the official title of "Preah

Karuna Preah Bat Sâmdach Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preahmâhaviraksat"

(Khmer: ពះករុ� ពះ�ទសេម�ច ពះ នេ�ត�ម សហីនុ ពះម�វ �រក� ត) when he abdicated for a second

time.[245] He was also referred to by another honorific, "His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk The Great

Heroic King King-Father of Khmer independence, territorial integrity and national unity" ( ពះករុ�

ពះ�ទសេម�ច ពះ នេ�ត�ម សីហនុ ពះម�វ �រក� ត ពះវរ�ជបិ�ឯក�ជ� បូរណ"ពទឹកដី

និងឯក"ព&តិែខ) រ).[250]At the same time, he issued a royal decree requesting to be called "Samdech

Ta" or "Samdech Ta-tuot",[251] which translates as "Grandfather" and "Great-grandfather" respectively in

English.[252] When Sihanouk passed away in October 2012, he was bestowed by his son Sihamoni with

the posthumous title of "Preah Karuna Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preah Borom Ratanakkot"

(Khmer: ពះករុ� ពះនេ�ត�ម សហីនុ ពះបរមរតនេ*ដ+), which literally translates as "The King who lies

in the Diamond Urn" in English.[253]

Personal life[edit]

Sihanouk's name is derived from two Sanskrit words "Siha" and "Manu", which translates as "Lion" and

"Jaws" respectively in English.[254][255] He was fluent in Khmer, French as well as English,[256] and also

learnt Greek and Latin in high school.[257] In his high school days, Sihanouk

played soccer, basketball, volleyball and also took up horse riding.[1]He suffered from diabetes and

depression in the 1960s,[258] which flared up again in the late 1970s while living in captivity under the

Khmer Rouge.[259] In November 1992, Sihanouk suffered a stroke[260] caused by the thickening of the

coronary arteries and blood vessels.[261] The following year he was diagnosed with B cell lymphoma in

the prostate[262] and was treated with chemotherapy and surgery.[263] Sihanouk's lymphoma went into

remission in 1995,[264] but returned again in 2005 in the gastric region. He suffered a third bout of

lymphoma in 2008[262] and after prolonged treatment, it went into remission the following year.[265]

In 1960, Sihanouk built a personal residence at Chamkarmon District where he would live in over the

next ten years as the Head of State.[266] Following his overthrow in 1970, Sihanouk took up residence in

Beijing, where he lived at theDiaoyutai State Guesthouse in the first year of his stay. In 1971, Sihanouk

moved to a larger residence in the city which once housed the French embassy.[267] The residence was

equipped with a temperature-adjustable swimming pool,[107]cinema[268] and seven chefs to cook his

meals.[269] In 1974, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung built Changsuwon, a 40-room mansion for

Sihanouk.[270] Changsuwon was built near an artificial lake, and Sihanouk spent time taking boat trips

there and also shot a few films within its compound.[271] In August 2008, Sihanouk declared his assets

on his website, which according to him consisted of a small house in Siem Reap and 30,000 Euros of

cash savings stored in a French bank. He also stated that his residences in Beijing and Pyongyang

were guesthouses owned by the governments of China and North Korea respectively and that they did

not belong to him.[272]

Family [edit]

Sihanouk's spouse, Norodom Monineath, and their son Norodom Sihamoni photographed at Sihanouk's funeral.

To the extreme left is Sihanouk's half-brother, Norodom Sirivudh.

Sihanouk married Paule Monique Izzi in April 1952, the daughter of Pomme Peang–a Cambodian lady,

and Jean-François Izzi, a French banker of Italian ancestry.[273] Monique became Sihanouk's lifelong

partner,[95] and in the 1990s she changed her name to Monineath.[274] Prior to his marriage to Monique,

Sihanouk had married five other women including Phat Kanhol, Sisowath Pongsanmoni, Sisowath

Monikessan, Mam Manivan Phanivong and Thavet Norleak.[275] Monikessan died of childbirth in 1946

while his marriages to other women all ended in divorce.[276] Sihanouk sired fourteen children with five

different wives except for Thavet Norleak, who bore him no children.[277] Five children and fourteen

grandchildren disappeared during the Khmer Rouge years, which Sihanouk concluded that they were

killed by the Khmer Rouge leadership.[278][279]

Sihanouk had the following issue:

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Buppha Devi 1943 Phat Kanhol

Norodom Yuvaneath 1943 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Ranariddh 1944 Phat Kanhol

Norodom Ravivong 1944 1973 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni Malaria[280]

Norodom Chakrapong 1945 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Norodom Naradipo 1946 1976 Sisowath

Monikessan

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[281]

Norodom Sorya Roeungsi 1947 1976 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[281]

Norodom Kantha Bopha 1948 1952 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni Leukemia[280]

Norodom Khemanourak 1949 1975 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Botum Bopha 1951 1975 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Sujata 1953 1975 Mam Manivan Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Sihamoni 1953 Monique Izzi

(Monineath)

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Narindrapong 1954 2003 Monique Izzi

(Monineath) Heart attack[283]

Norodom Arunrasmy 1955 Mam Manivan

Ancestry [edit] [show]Ancestors of Norodom Sihanouk

References[edit]

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489. Jump up^ Erika Kinetz and Yun Samean (31 August 2007). "Retired King Invites ECCC Staff to Palace". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved5 July 2015.

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493. Jump up^ Vong Sokheng (31 October 2011). "Return of the king".Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

494. Jump up^ Chun Sakada (19 January 2012). "Former King Sihanouk in China for More Healthcare". VOA Khmer. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July2015.

495. Jump up^ Post Staff (9 January 2012). "Cambodia's Sihanouk requests cremation". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

496. Jump up^ Meas Sokchea (28 September 2012). "Beijing birthday bash for King Father". Phnom Penh Post. Archived fromthe original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

497. Jump up^ David Boyle (15 October 2012). "King Father Norodom Sihanouk passed away". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July2015.

498. Jump up^ AKP Phnom Penh (15 October 2012). "King and PM Depart for Beijing". Agence Kampuchea Press. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July2015.

499. Jump up^ AKP Phnom Penh (17 October 2012). "Cambodian People Flood to Receive King-Father’s Body". Agence Kampuchea Press. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

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501. Jump up^ Vong Sokheng (27 November 2012). "Date set for Sihanouk’s funeral". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

502. Jump up^ Rachel Vandenbrink (1 February 2013). "‘Last Chance’ to Pay Respects". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.

503. Jump up^ AKP Phnom Penh (4 February 2013). "Cambodia’s Late King-Father Cremated". Agence Kampuchea Presse. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved25 July 2015.

504. Jump up^ May Titthara and Shane Worrell (8 February 2013)."Sihanouk’s ashes enter the Royal Palace". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

505. Jump up^ Sen David (13 October 2013). "Sihanouk statue inaugurated". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

506. Jump up^ Sovannara (13 July 2014). "Late Cambodian King Sihanouk's Ashes Enshrined in Stupa in Royal Palace".Khmer Times. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

507. Jump up^ Cat Barton (23 August 2007). "Cambodia film makers aim to rebuild tattered image". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved11 September 2015.

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ពះម�វ �រក� ត ពះវរ�ជបិ�ឯក�ជ� បូរណ"ពទឹកដី និងឯក"ព&តិែខ) រ ពះអង-�ន.ងចូល ពះទីវង-ត". Agence Kampuchea Presse. Archived fromthe original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

535. Jump up^ LOR CHANDARA AND WENCY LEUNG (14 October 2004). "Abdication Won’t Diminish King’s Influence". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

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537. Jump up^ អត0បទ អង-"ពព័ត៌3ន នងិ បតិកម)រហ័ស (Press and Quick Reaction Unit) (13 November 2012). "សេម�ចេតេ&ពន�ល់ពី*រេ ប5 �ស់ ពះបរមប67 មរណ8មរបស់សេម�ចឪត ម9វ*រស:; វុធ*រ:រ&តិ និង*រែកលម=េល5ប>? *រ@ស់ែវងដីធA ី". Office of the Council of Ministers. Archived fromthe original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

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548. Jump up^ Reuter (4 February 1995). "Sihanouk cured of cancer, says paper". New Straits Times. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

549. Jump up^ Saing Soenthrith (30 June 2009). "Retired King Will Return Home From China in July". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

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555. Jump up^ Poppy McPherson (7 November 2014). "A gift that keeps on giving". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September2015.

556. Jump up^ Georgia Wilkins (29 August 2008). "Sihanouk declares assets to debunk myth he's rich". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.

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Bibliography[edit]

Wikiquote has

quotations related

to: Norodom Sihanouk

Wikimedia Commons has

media related

to Norodom Sihanouk.

Books [edit]

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survival. United States of America: Penguin Books.ISBN 0140216898.

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No. 9 (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Solna, Sweden: Oxford University

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• Jeldres, Julio A (2003). The Royal House of Cambodia. Phnom Penh Cambodia: Monument

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Extraordinary Life of Hun Sen. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte

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Singapore: Graham Brash. ISBN 9812180869.

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States of America: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1639-1.

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Communication–Royal University of Phnom Penh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August

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Extraordinary Friendship on the Fringes of the Cold War". Cross-Currents: East Asian History and

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Norodom Sihanouk (Khmer: នេ�ត�ម សហីនុ; 31 October 1922 – 15 October 2012) was the King of

Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004. Also affectionately known as Samdech

Euv (Khmer: សេម�ចឪ) to theCambodian people, Sihanouk ascended to the throne in 1941. After

theSecond World War, he campaigned for the independence of Cambodia fromFrench rule, which

came true in 1953. In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated the throne in favour of his father Norodom Suramarit,

and went on to form theSangkum, a political organisation. Sihanouk led the Sangkum to win the1955

general elections, and became the Prime Minister of Cambodia. When Suramarit died in 1960,

Sihanouk introduced a constitutional amendmentwhich made him the Head of State of Cambodia, a

position which he held until 1970. Between 1955 and 1970, Sihanouk pursued a policy of neutralityfor

Cambodia. As he forged close ties with Communist countries, in particular China, this incurred the

suspicions of the United States (US) and its anti-Communist allies. Sihanouk maintained tenacious ties

with the US and their allies, as they engaged in various activities which Sihanouk perceived as attempts

to undermine his rule.

In March 1970, Sihanouk was overthrown as the Head of State by Lon Noland Sisowath Sirik Matak,

paving the way for the formation of the Khmer Republic. He fled to China and North Korea and went on

to form a government in exile, known as the Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea

(GRUNK) as well as a resistance movement, the National United Front of Kampuchea. As the leader of

GRUNK, Sihanouk lent his support to the Khmer Rouge which led to their victory against the Khmer

Republic in April 1975. Sihanouk subsequently returned to Cambodia and became the figurehead Head

of State of Democratic Kampuchea by the Khmer Rouge. In 1976, Sihanouk resigned from his position

which led to him being placed under house arrest until 1979 when Vietnamese forcesoverthrew the

Khmer Rouge. Sihanouk went into exile again, and in 1981 he formed FUNCINPEC, a resistance party.

The following year in 1982, Sihanouk was appointed as the President of the Coalition Government of

Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), consisting of the three anti-Vietnamese resistance factions including

FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF).

In the late 1980s, informal talks were carried out to end hostilities between the People's Republic of

Kampuchea (PRK) and resistance factions under the CGDK. A transitional body to oversee Cambodian

affairs, the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC) was formed in 1990 which saw Sihanouk

appointed as its President. The following year in 1991, peace accords were signed which led to the

creation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). The UNTAC

organised general elections in 1993, which led to the formation of a coalition government jointly led by

his son Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen. Sihanouk was reinstated as the Head of State of Cambodia

in June 1993. When a permanentconstitution was promolugated in September 1993, Sihanouk was

made the King of Cambodia for a second time. In 2004, Sihanouk abdicated again in favour of another

son, Norodom Sihamoni who succeeded him as king. He subsequently became known as the King

Father until his death in 2012. Sihanouk pursued an artistic career during his lifetime, and wrote several

musical compositions. He was also known to be a film producer, director and actor, and produced a

total of 50 films between 1966 and 2006.

Contents [hide]

• 1Early life and first reign • 2Sangkum era

o 2.1Premiership (1955–1960) o 2.2Initial years as Head of State (1960–1965) o 2.3Continued leadership as Head of State (1966–1970)

• 3Deposition, GRUNK and Khmer Rouge years • 4FUNCINPEC and CGDK years • 5UNTAC administration era • 6Second reign • 7Abdication and final years • 8Death and funeral • 9Artistic works

o 9.1Film-making o 9.2Music

• 10Titles and styles • 11Personal life

o 11.1Family o 11.2Ancestry

• 12References • 13Bibliography

o 13.1Books o 13.2Reports

Early life and first reign[edit]

Norodom Sihanouk in his coronation regalia, November 1941

Sihanouk was the only child born of the union between Norodom Suramarit and Sisowath

Kossamak.[1]He received his primary education at the Francois Baudoin school and Nuon Moniram

school, and subsequently pursued his secondary education in Saigon at Lycée Chasseloup

Laubat.[2] When his maternal grandfather Sisowath Monivong, died on 23 April 1941, the Crown Council

appointed Sihanouk as King of Cambodia the following day.[3] Subsequently, his coronation took place

on 3 May 1941.[4] During the Japanese occupation of Cambodia, he dedicated most of his time to

sports, filming and the occasional tour to the countryside.[5] In March 1945, the Japanese military which

had occupied Cambodia from August 1941 dissolved the nominal French colonial administration. Under

pressure from the Japanese, Sihanouk proclaimed Cambodia's independence[6] and assumed the

position of Prime Minister while serving as king at the same time.[7]

As Prime Minister, Sihanouk revoked a decree issued by the last resident superior of Cambodia,

Georges Gautier to romanise the Khmer alphabet.[8]Following the Surrender of Japan in August 1945,

nationalist forces loyal toSon Ngoc Thanh launched a coup which led to the latter's appointment as

Prime Minister.[9] When the French returned to Cambodia in October 1945, Thanh was deposed from

his position and was replaced by Sihanouk's uncleSisowath Monireth.[10] Monireth negotiated for greater

autonomy of internal affairs within Cambodia. A Modus Vivendi was signed in January 1946 whereby

Cambodia was granted full autonomy within the French Union.[11] A joint French-Cambodian commission

was set up after that to write Cambodia's constitution,[12] and in April 1946, Sihanouk introduced clauses

which provided for an elected parliament on the basis of universal male suffrage as well as press

freedom.[13] The first constitution was signed into effect by Sihanouk in May 1947.[14] Around this time,

Sihanouk made two trips to Saumur, France where he undertook military training at theArmoured

Cavalry Branch Training School in 1946 and again in 1948. At the end of the training, Sihanouk was

made a reserve captain for the French army.[15]

In early 1949, Sihanouk travelled to Paris with his parents to negotiate with the French government for

more autonomy over Cambodia, leading to the implementation of a new Franco-Khmer treaty that

cancelled the Modus Vivendi previously signed in 1946.[16] Later in September 1949, Sihanouk

dissolved the National Assembly and ruled by decree[17] until September 1951 when the Democrat

Party pressured Sihanouk to hold national elections.[18] Sihanouk travelled to France in February 1953,

and wrote twice to then-French President Vincent Auriol to cede control over all remaining executive

powers in Cambodia by citing on widespread anti-French sentiment among the Cambodian

populace.[19] Auriol responded by appointing the French commissioner for overseas territories, Jean

Letourneau to meet with Sihanouk. When Letourneau rejected Sihanouk's suggestion, the latter

travelled to Canada and United States (US) where he exploited on the prevailing anti-

communist sentiments to call for Cambodian independence. According to Sihanouk, Cambodia faced a

Communist threat similar to that of the Viet Minh in Vietnam and the solution to address the Communist

threat was full independence for Cambodia.[20]

Sihanouk returned to Cambodia in June 1953, taking up residence in Siem Reap.[21] He organised

public rallies calling for Cambodians to fight for independence, and formed a citizenry militia which

attracted around 130,000 recruits.[22] In August 1953, France agreed to cede control over judicial

andinterior affairs to Cambodia, while another further agreement was secured in October 1953 which

saw France surrendering control over defense matters. At the end of the month, Sihanouk returned to

Phnom Penh,[23] where he declared Cambodia's independence from France on 9 November 1953.[21] In

May 1954, Sihanouk sent Nhiek Tioulong and Tep Phan to participate in the Geneva

Conference.[24] The agreements signed for Cambodia reaffirmed the country's independence, and also

allowed it to seek military aid from any country without restrictions. At the same time, Sihanouk still

faced domestic opposition from the Democrat Party[25] which dominated the National Assembly and

were unhappy with Sihanouk's political activism.[18] In February 1955, Sihanouk held a national

referendum to gauge public approval ratings on his efforts in seeking national independence, which

returned with 99.8 percent of the electorate expressing approval.[26]

Sangkum era[edit]

Main article: Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970)

Premiership (1955–1960) [edit]

Meeting in Beijing in 1956: from left Mao Zedong, Peng Zhen, Sihanouk, Liu Shaoqi.

On 2 March 1955, Sihanouk abdicated from the throne,[21][27] and the royal throne council nominated his

father, Suramarit to succeed him.[28] A month later, Sihanouk decided to enter politics, and announced

the formation of theSangkum, a political organisation which he headed. Several political parties

including the Khmer Renovation Party, People's Party[29] and the Liberal Party subsequently dissolved

and merged themselves with the Sangkum.[30]At the same time, Sihanouk appointed Dap Chhuon, a

guerrilla leader based in Siem Reap to oversee the organisation of parliamentary elections slated to be

held in September 1955. With Sihanouk's approval, Chhuon intimidated politicians from the Democrat

Party and the Pracheachon, both of which had refused to merge with the

Sangkum.[31] When parliamentary elections were held in September 1955, the Sangkum received 83

percent of all valid votes, taking up all seats in the National Assembly.[32] The following month, Sihanouk

was appointed as Prime Minister.[33]

As Prime Minister, Sihanouk introduced several constitutional changes that included extending suffrage

to women, adopting Khmer as the sole official language of the country[34] and making Cambodia

a Constitutional monarchy by vesting policy making powers to the Prime Minister rather than to the

King.[35] He viewed socialism as an ideal concept in establishing social equality and fostering national

cohesion within newly-independent Cambodia. In March 1956, he embarked on a national programme

of "Buddhist socialism", espousing socialist principles on one hand while maintaining the need for

Cambodians to stay true to their Buddhist traditions.[36] Between 1955 and 1960, Sihanouk alternately

resigned and retook the Prime Minister post several times, citing fatigue caused by overwork as his

reason.[37] The National Assembly nominated experienced politicians such as Sim Var and San Yun to

become Prime Minister whenever Sihanouk took leave, but they similarly relinquished their posts each

time, after several months into their term,[38] as cabinet ministers repeatedly disputed over public policy

matters.[39]

In May 1955, Sihanouk accepted military aid from the United States (US),[40] but soon developed a

suspicious view towards it, when Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives attempted to coax him

into placing Cambodia underSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) protection when he was in

the Philippines on a state visit in January 1956.[41]He was also wary of the US attempting to destabilise

his government through its tacit support of the Democrat Party, which was later dissolved in 1957.[42] On

the other hand, Sihanouk struck up friendly ties with the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai when he first

visited the country in February 1956. They jointly signed a friendship treaty, which included a promise

by China to give US$40 million in economic aid to Cambodia.[43] When Sihanouk returned from China,

the Thai and South Vietnamese governments called him as a Communist ally, with the latter briefly

imposed an economic blockade which prevented trading ships from travelling up the Mekong river

to Phnom Penh.[44] While Sihanouk professed that he was pursuing a policy of neutrality, Sarit

Thanarat and Ngo Dinh Diem, the leaders of Thailand and South Vietnam who were respectively known

for their pro-American sympathies, distrusted Sihanouk, more so after he established formal diplomatic

relations with China in 1958.[45]

In December 1958, Ngo Dinh Nhu–Diem's younger brother and chief adviser, mooted the idea

of orchestrating a coup to overthrow Sihanouk.[46] Nhu contacted Dap Chhuon, Sihanouk's Interior

Minister who was known for his pro-American sympathies, to lead the coup attempt against his

boss.[47] To prepare for the coup, Chhuon was provided with covert financial and military assistance

from Thailand, South Vietnam and the CIA.[48] In January 1959, Sihanouk learnt of the coup plans

through his intermediaries who had contact with Chhuon.[49] The following month, Sihanouk sent the

army to capture Chhuon, who was summarily executed as soon as he was captured, effectively ending

the coup attempt.[50]Following Chhuon's execution, Sihanouk accused South Vietnam and the United

States of orchestrating the coup attempt.[51] Six months later on 31 August 1959, a small packaged

lacquer gift, which was fitted with a parcel bomb was delivered to the royal palace. Norodom Vakrivan,

the chief of protocol who opened the package, was killed instantly. Sihanouk's parents, Suramarit and

Kossamak were sitting in another room not far from Vakrivan, narrowly escaped unscathed. An

investigation was carried out and traced the origin of the parcel bomb being sent from an American

military base in Saigon.[52] While Sihanouk accused Ngo Dinh Nhu of masterminding the bomb attack,

the incident deepened his distrust of the US,[53] which he suspected that they had played a complicit role

in it.[54]

Initial years as Head of State (1960–1965) [edit]

Sihanouk with U.S. President John F. Kennedy in New York City on 25 September 1961.

Suramarit died on 3 April 1960 after suffering from several months of poor health,[55] which Sihanouk

attributed to the fright that his father received from the parcel bomb attack.[52] The following day, the

royal throne council met to choose Monireth as the Regent of Cambodia.[56] Over the next two months,

Sihanouk introduced constitutional amendments to create a new post of the Head of State of

Cambodia which provided ceremonial powers equivalent to that of the King. Areferendum was held on

5 June 1960 approved Sihanouk's proposals, and Sihanouk was formally appointed as the Head of

State on 14 June 1960.[57] As the Head of State, Sihanouk took over various ceremonial responsibilities

of the king, such as holding public audiences[58] and leading the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. At the

same time, he continued to play an active role in politics in his capacity as the President of the

Sangkum.[59]

Sometime in early 1962, political leaders from the Pracheachon, which was known for its left-wing

sympathies were cracked down by the police at Sihanouk's instructions. Its spokesman, Non Suon had

criticized Sihanouk a year earlier for failing to tackle inflation, unemployment and corruption issues,

arousing Sihanouk's ire.[60] In May 1962 Tou Samouth, the secretary-general of the Pracheachon

disappeared, which its ideological ally, the Communist Party of Kampuchea suspected that Samouth

was secretly captured and killed by the police.[61] At the same time, he co-opted politicians with left-wing

views including Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon, Hu Nim and Chau Seng into the Sangkum and allowed

them to stand for the parliamentary elections in June 1962, which they won.[62]

In November 1962, Sihanouk called on the US to stop supporting the Khmer Serei, which he believed

that they have had provided covert assistance through the CIA. He threatened to reject all economic aid

from the US if they failed to respond to his demands,[63] a decision which he put later to act on 19

November 1963.[64] At the same time, Sihanouk alsonationalised the country's entrepot trade, banking

sector and distillery industries.[65] He proceeded to establish the National Export-Import Corporation and

Statutory Board (SONEXIM), which was tasked to oversee policy and regulatory matters on the

country's entrepot trade.[66] Some three weeks later, on 9 December 1963, Sihanouk issued a

communique celebrating the deaths of Diem, Kennedy and Sarit. The US protested against Sihanouk's

communique, which Sihanouk responded by recalling Cambodian ambassador to the US, Nong Kimny

back home.[67]

In early 1964, Sihanouk signed a secret agreement with North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, which

allowed Chinese military aid destined for the latter to be delivered through the port of Sihanoukville. In

turn, the Cambodian army was allowed to skim off 10 percent of all military hardware shipped through

Cambodia, in addition to collecting payments for transporting food supplies to Viet Cong resistance

bases.[68] Sihanouk also allowed the Viet Cong to build a trail through eastern Cambodia to allow Viet

Cong troops to receive war supplies from North Vietnam, which became known as the Sihanouk

Trail.[69] When the US learnt of Vietcong presence in eastern Cambodia, they started a bombing

campaign in this region,[70] which spurned Sihanouk to sever diplomatic ties with the US in May

1965.[69] Other Communist countries including China, Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia provided

military aid to Cambodia as Sihanouk's became friendlier withNorth Vietnam.[71]

Continued leadership as Head of State (1966–1970) [edit]

Norodom Sihanouk in 1967.

In September 1966, general elections were held,[72] which led to many Sangkum nominees

with conservative and right-wing sympathies to be elected to the National Assembly. The newly elected

legislators nominated Lon Nol to become Prime Minister. Lon Nol's was known for his conservative and

right-wing views, and his nomination did not sit well with Sihanouk.[73] In response, Sihanouk set up

a shadow government in October 1966, made up of Sangkum legislators with left-wing sympathies to

counterbalance right-wing influences.[74] At the end of the month, Lon Nol offered to resign from his

position, which Sihanouk rejected.[75] In April 1967, fighting broke out between government troops and

local peasants in Samlaut,Battambang Province.[76] The fighting, which became known as the Samlaut

Uprisingwas quickly put down,[77] but Sihanouk soon developed a suspicion that three left-wing

legislators–Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon and Hu Nim had incited the rebellion.[78]When Sihanouk

threatened to charge Khieu Samphan and Hou Yuon before a military tribunal, both of them fled into the

jungle and joined Khmer Rouge.[79]

Lon Nol resigned as Prime Minister at the beginning of May 1967, and Sihanouk appointed Son Sann in

his place.[78] At the same time, Sihanouk replaced conservative-leaning ministers appointed by Lon Nol

with technocrats and left-leaning politicians, calling it an "Exceptional Government".[79] In the later part of

the month, Sihanouk accused China of supporting local Chinese Cambodians in engaging in

"contraband" and "subversive" activities,[80] as the Chinese embassy in Cambodia had published and

distributed Communist propaganda to the Cambodian populace appraising the Cultural Revolution,

causing much consternation to Sihanouk.[81] Subsequently, Sihanouk sent his Foreign

Minister, Norodom Phurissara to China in August 1967, who made a failed attempt to urge Zhou Enlai

in stopping the Chinese embassy for disseminating Communist propaganda.[82] In response, Sihanouk

closed the Cambodia-Chinese Friendship Association in September 1967. When the Chinese

government protested Sihanouk's action,[83] he followed up by threatening to close the Chinese

embassy in Cambodia as well.[84] Subsequently, Zhou Enlai stepped in to placate Sihanouk,[85] and

condescended by instructing its embassy to send its publications to Cambodia's Information Ministry for

vetting prior to distribution.[84]

Sihanouk subsequently pursued rapprochement with the US, starting in October 1967 when he hosted

a private visit ofJacqueline Kennedy to Cambodia.[86] The following January, Sihanouk met with the US

ambassador to India Chester Bowles, where he tacitly acknowledged the presence of Viet Cong troops

in the Cambodia, and allowed US forces to enter Cambodia in attacking Viet Cong

forces.[87] Subsequently, the US launched Operation Menu in March 1969, and its planes bombed parts

of eastern Cambodia. The bombing campaign prompted Viet Cong forced to flee from their sanctuaries

in the jungles, seeking refuge in populated towns and villages of the Cambodian countryside.[88] As a

result of the bombing campaign, Sihanouk became concerned with the prospect of Cambodia getting

drawn into the Vietnam War. In June 1969, he extended diplomatic recognition to the Provisional

Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRGSV),[89] with the hope of keeping the

scale Operation Menu in check. At the same time, he also openly admitted the presence of Viet Cong

troops in Cambodia for the first time in April 1969,[90] prompting the US to restore formal diplomatic

relations with Cambodia three months later.[91]

In January 1969, Sihanouk opened two casinos in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville,[92] at a time when the

Cambodian economy was facing stagnation and systemic corruption.[93] While the casinos generated

revenues that accounted up to 700 million riels for the state budget, it also caused a sharp increase in

the number of bankrupts and suicide incidences.[92] In August 1969, Lon Nol was reappointed as the

Prime Minister, with Sisowath Sirik Matak appointed as his deputy. Two months later, Lon Nol left

Cambodia in October to seek medical treatment, leaving Sirik Matak to lead the government. Between

October and December 1969, Sirik Matak instituted several policy changes that ran contrary to

Sihanouk's wishes, such as allowing private banks to re-open in the country and devaluing the riel. He

also encouraged ambassadors to write to Lon Nol directly, instead of going through Sihanouk, angering

the latter.[94] In early January 1970, Sihanouk left Cambodia for medical treatment in France.[95] Shortly

after Sihanouk left, Sirik Matak took the opportunity to close down the casinos.[96]

Deposition, GRUNK and Khmer Rouge years[edit]

Sihanouk visiting Romania in 1972, with Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu(right)..

On 11 March 1970, demonstrations occurred outside the North Vietnamese and PRGSV embassies.

The demonstrators looted and sacked both embassies, alarming Sihanouk who was still in

Paris.[97] Sihanouk made up his mind to visit Moscow, Beijing and Hanoi, with a view of pressuring state

leaders into getting Viet Cong forces to return to their sanctuaries in the underpopulated forests of

northeast Cambodia, where they had originally established themselves between 1964 till 1969.[98] Five

days later Oum Mannorine, the half-brother of Sihanouk's wife Monique, was summoned to the National

Assembly over corruption charges.[99] On the same night after the hearing, Mannorine ordered troops

under his command to arrest Lon Nol and Sirik Matak, but ended up getting arrested by Lon Nol's

troops. On 18 March 1970, the National Assembly voted to depose Sihanouk,[100] and allowed Lon Nol to

assume emergency powers.[101]

On the day of his overthrow, Sihanouk was in Moscow and the Soviet foreign minister Alexei Kosygin,

first informed him of the news.[102] From Moscow, Sihanouk flew to Beijing where he was received by

Zhou Enlai. Zhou arranged for the North Vietnamese Prime Minister, Pham Van Dong to fly to Beijing

from Hanoi and meet with Sihanouk.[103] Both Zhou and Dong encouraged Sihanouk to rebel against Lon

Nol and promised to give the latter military and financial support. On 23 March 1970, Sihanouk

announced the formation of his resistance movement, the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK)

and encouraged the Cambodian people to join him in fighting against Lon Nol's

government.[104] Sometime later on 5 May 1970, Sihanouk announced the formation of a government-in-

exile known as Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea (GRUNK) and led Communist

countries including China, North Vietnam, and North Korea to break relations with the Lon Nol

regime.[105] In Phnom Penh, a military trial convened on 2 July 1970, whereby Sihanouk was charged

with treason and corruption in his capacity as Head of State. After a three-day trial, the judges ruled that

Sihanouk guilty of the charges and sentenced to him death, in absentia on 5 July 1970.[106]

Sihanouk alternately lived in Beijing and Pyongyang between 1970 and 1975, where he lived in state

guesthouses.[107] In February 1973, Sihanouk travelled to Hanoi where he started on a long journey with

Khieu Samphan and other Khmer Rouge leaders. The convoy traveled along the Ho Chi Minh trail and

reached the Cambodian border at Stung Treng Province the following month. Sihanouk travelled across

the provinces of Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, and Siem Reap. Throughout his visit, Sihanouk faced

constant bombardment from American planes participating in Operation Freedom Deal.[108] At Siem

Reap, Sihanouk visited the temples of Angkor Wat, Banteay Srei, and Bayon.[109] In August 1973, Sirik

Matak wrote an open letter to call Sihanouk to bring the Cambodian Civil War to an end and accepting

the possibility of the latter returning to the country. When the letter reached Sihanouk, he angrily

rejected Sirik Matak's advances.[110]

When the Khmer Republic fell to the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, Sihanouk was nominated to the

symbolic position as the Head of State for the Khmer Rouge regime, officially known as Democratic

Kampuchea.[111] He continued to live in Beijing until September 1975[112] when he returned to Cambodia

so as to inter the ashes of Queen Kossamak, who had died in Beijing just days after the Fall of Phnom

Penh.[113] He subsequently went abroad to recommend the diplomatic recognition of Democratic

Kampuchea, and visited several Communist countries[114] before returning to Cambodia on 31

December 1975. After presiding a meeting to endorse the constitution of the Democratic

Kampuchea,[115] Sihanouk was taken on a tour across Cambodia by Khieu Samphan the following

month, whereby he witnessed the effects of theCambodian genocide orchestrated by the Angkar.

Following the tour, Sihanouk decided to resign from his position as the head of state.[116] The Angkar

initially rejected his resignation request, though they subsequently accepted it in mid-April 1976, which

they retroactively backdated the resignation to 2 April 1976.[117]

From this point of time onwards, Sihanouk was kept under house arrest at the royal palace until

September 1978, when he was relocated to another apartment within Phnom Penh where he stayed

until the end of the year.[118] Throughout his entire period of confinement, Sihanouk made several

requests to travel overseas to the Angkar, which were all turned down.[119] On New Year's Day of 1979,

Sihanouk was taken from Phnom Penh to Sisophon, where they stayed for three days until 5 January

when they were taken back to Phnom Penh.[120] Sihanouk was taken to meet Pol Pot, who apprised him

of the Angkar's plans to repulse Vietnamese troops who have invaded parts of eastern Cambodia since

December 1978.[121] On 6 January 1979, Sihanouk flew to Beijing from Phnom Penh, where he was

greeted by Zhou Enlai's successor, Deng Xiaoping.[122] Three days later, Sihanouk flew from Beijing to

New York to attend the UN Security Council, where he simultaneously condemned the Khmer Rouge

for orchestrating the Cambodian genocide as well as theVietnamese occupation of

Cambodia.[123] Sihanouk subsequently sought asylum in China after making two unsuccessful asylum

applications with the US and France.[124]

FUNCINPEC and CGDK years[edit]

Sihanouk (right) accompanied by his son, Norodom Ranariddh on an ANS inspection tour during the 1980s.

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[125] with Vietnam's influence over the PRK government. Deng proposed to Sihanouk to co-

operate with the Khmer Rouge to overthrow the PRK government, an idea which Sihanouk

rejected[126] as he was against the genocidal policies pursued by the Khmer Rouge, while they were in

power.[125] In March 1981, Sihanouk established a resistance movement,FUNCINPEC together with a

small resistance army known as the ANS (Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste).[127] He appointed In Tam,

who had briefly served as the Prime Minister of the Khmer Republic, as the Commander-in-chief of the

ANS.[128]Around this time, Sihanouk started tripartite talks between FUNCINPEC with the Khmer Rouge

and the Son Sann-led Khmer People's National Liberation Front(KPNLF)[129] as Deng pressured him to

collaborate with the Khmer Rouge as a precondition to receiving military aid for ANS.[130]

After several rounds of tripartite talks, Sihanouk presided over the establishment of a government exile,

known as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea(CGDK) in June 1982.[130] The CGDK

consisted of FUNCINPEC, KPNLF and the Khmer Rouge, and China mediated additional tripartite talks

between the three CGDK factions between 1982 and 1987, but was unable to bring progress to ending

the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.[131] During this period of time, Sihanouk appointed two of his

sons, Norodom Chakrapong and Norodom Ranariddh, to leading roles in the ANS. Chakrapong was

appointed as the deputy chief-of-staff for the ANS in March 1985,[132] while Ranariddh was minted to the

twin positions of commander-in-chief and the chief-of-staff of the ANS in January 1986, replacing In

Tam.[133] In December 1987, the Prime Minister of the PRK government, Hun Sen first met with

Sihanouk to discuss about the ending of the protracted Cambodian–Vietnamese War.[134] The following

July, the then-foreign minister of Indonesia, Ali Alatas brokered the first series of discussion known as

the Jakarta Informal Meetings (JIM). The JIMs were held near Jakarta, and involved the four warring

Cambodian factions consisting of FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge, KPNLF and the PRK government over

the future of Cambodia.[135]

Two more rounds of JIMs were held in February and May 1989. After which in July 1989, Ali Alatas

together with French foreign minister Roland Dumas, convened the Paris Peace Conference to discuss

plans for Vietnamese troop withdrawal and power sharing arrangements for a future Cambodian

government.[135] The following month, Sihanouk resigned as president of FUNCINPEC,[136] but remained

in the party as an ordinary member.[137] In September 1990, the United Nations (UN) sponsored the

establishment of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), an administrative body responsible

for overseeing sovereign affairs of Cambodia for an interim period until UN-sponsored elections are

held.[138]The creation of the SNC was subsequently ratified with United Nations Security Council

Resolution 668.[139] In July 1991, Sihanouk left FUNCINPEC altogether, and was elected as the

chairperson of the SNC.[140]

UNTAC administration era[edit]

The Paris Peace Accords were signed on 23 October 1991, which gave formal recognition to the SNC

and also provided for the creation a transitional government of Cambodia, known as the United Nations

Transitional Authority in Cambodia(UNTAC).[141] The accords empowered the UNTAC to station

peacekeeping troops in Cambodia to supervise the disarmament of the four warring Cambodian

factions and carry out free and fair national elections in the country.[142]Sihanouk returned to Phnom

Penh on 14 November 1991, and city folks lined the streets of Phnom Penh as he rode in an open top

limousine with Hun Sen to celebrate his return to the country.[143] The UNTAC administration was

established in February 1992, but soon faced resistance from the Khmer Rouge in enforcing

peacekeeping operations.[144] Sihanouk responded by calling to abandon the Khmer Rouge from the

peacekeeping process in July and September 1992. During this period of time, Sihanouk spent most of

the time in Siem Reap and making helicopter trips to supervise election preparations in KPNLF,

FUNCINPEC and Khmer Rouge resistance bases.[145]

Sihanouk left Cambodia for Beijing in November 1992,[146] where he would stay on for the next six

months until he returned to Cambodia on the eve of elections in May 1993.[147] While in Beijing,

Sihanouk proposed a Presidential systemgovernment for Cambodia to then-UN secretary-

general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, but soon dropped the idea after the Khmer Rouge opposed his

proposal.[148] The general elections were held in May 1993, with FUNCINPEC headed by Sihanouk's

son Norodom Ranariddh garnering the most votes while the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) headed

by Hun Sen came in second.[149] CPP leaders were unhappy with the election results and on 3 June

1993, Hun Sen and Chea Sim called on Sihanouk to assume all state power. Sihanouk complied, and

announced the formation of a Provisional National Government (PRG) headed by him with Hun Sen

and Ranariddh as his deputies.[150] Ranariddh was not informed of Sihanouk's plans, and joined

the Australia, China, United Kingdom and United States in opposing the PRG plan. Sihanouk dropped

the PRG plan the following day through a national radio broadcast.[151]

On 14 June 1993, a constituent assembly session presided by Ranariddh nullified the 1970 coup d'état

which overthrew Sihanouk, and reinstated the latter as Cambodia's Head of State.[152] In the first few

days of his appointment, Sihanouk renamed the Cambodian military to its pre-1970 namesake,

the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. On 29 June 1993, Sihanouk issued another order to officially

rename the country from the State of Cambodia to simply "Cambodia". He also reinstated Nokor

Reach as the National Anthem of Cambodia with some minor modifications to its lyrics, and also

theCambodian flag to its pre-1970 design.[153] Sihanouk also appointed Ranariddh and Hun Sen as the

Co-Prime Ministers of Cambodia with equal powers in a provisional government,[154] which was ratified

by the Constituent Assembly on 2 July 1993.[152] On 30 August 1993,[155] Ranariddh and Hun Sen met

Sihanouk presented two draft constitutions, one of them stipulating a constitutional monarchy headed

by a King and another a republican state led by a Head of State. Sihanouk chose the option of making

Cambodia a constitutional monarchy,[156] and was ratified by the constituent assembly on 21 September

1993.[157]

Second reign[edit]

Sihanouk granting an audience to US ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn in March 1996.

The new constitution was proclaimed on 24 September 1993, and Sihanouk was reinstated as the King

of Cambodia.[158] A permanent coalition government was formed between FUNCINPEC, CPP and

BLDP, with Ranariddh and Hun Sen assuming the positions of First and Second Prime Ministers

respectively.[159] Shortly after that, Sihanouk took leave to Beijing where he spent several months for

cancer treatment.[160] In April 1994, Sihanouk returned to Cambodia,[161] and the following month, he

publicly called for the government to hold fresh elections and appoint Khmer Rouge representatives into

the government. Both Ranariddh and Hun Sen rejected his suggestions,[162][163] but Sihanouk pressed on,

further proposing a national unity government that would see the participation of FUNCINPEC, CPP

and Khmer Rouge forces, with him as the Head of State and government.[164] Again, both Prime

Ministers rejected Sihanouk's proposal, citing Khmer Rouge's past intransigent attitude would make the

proposal unrealistic.[165][166] Sihanouk became very frustrated at the rejections, lamenting that the two

Prime Ministers have been ignoring him. As Norodom Sirivudh[167] and Julio Jeldres, his younger half-

brother and official biographer respectively saw it, this was a clear sign that the monarchy's ability to

exert control over national affairs had diminished, vis-a-vis the Prime Ministers.[168]

In July 1994, one of his sons Norodom Chakrapong led a failed coup attempt to topple the

government.[169] Following the coup attempt, Chakrapong took refuge in a hotel in Phnom Penh, but

government troops soon discovered his hideout and surrounded the hotel. Chakrapong contacted

Sihanouk, who negotiated with the government to allow his son to go into exile in Malaysia.[170] The

following November, Sirivudh was accused of plotting to assassinate Hun Sen and imprisoned.

Sihanouk intervened to have Sirivudh be detained at the interior ministry's headquarters, convinced that

there was a secret plan to kill the latter if he were to remain in prison.[171] After Sirivudh was relocated to

the interior ministry's headquarters, Sihanouk appealed to Hun Sen, requesting that Sirivudh be allowed

to go into exile in France, who then accepted his offer.[172]

Relations between the two co-Prime Ministers, Ranariddh and Hun Sen started to deteriorate from

March 1996,[173] when the former accused the CPP of repeatedly delaying the allocation process of low-

level government posts to FUNCINPECs.[174] Ranariddh threatened to pull out of the coalition

government[175] and hold national elections in the same year if his demands were not met,[176] stoking

unease from Hun Sen and other CPP officials.[176] The following month, Sihanouk presided over a

meeting between some royal family members and senior FUNCINPEC officials in Paris. Sihanouk

attempted to tone down the tensions between FUNCINPEC and the CPP by assuring that FUNCINPEC

would not leave the coalition government nor were there no reactionary elements to bring down Hun

Sen or the CPP after the meeting.[177] In March 1997, Sihanouk stated his willingness to abdicate the

throne, claiming that the rising anti-royalist sentiment among the populace was threatening the

monarchy's existence.[178] Sihanouk's comments provoked a sharp response from Hun Sen, who tersely

warned that he would introduce constitutional amendments to prohibit members of the royal family from

participating in politics.[179] As Widyono saw it, Sihanouk remained popular with the Cambodian

electorate, and Hun Sen feared that should he abdicate and subsequently enter politics, he would win

in any future elections, thereby undercutting CPP's political clout.[178]

In July 1997, violent clashes erupted in Phnom Penh between infantry forces separately allied to the

CPP and FUNCINPEC, which effectively led to Ranariddh's ouster after FUNCINPEC forces were

defeated.[180] Sihanouk voiced displeasure against Hun Sen for orchestrating the clashes, but refrained

from calling Ranariddh's ouster a "coup d'etat", a term which FUNCINPEC members used.[181] When the

National Assembly elected Ung Huot as the First Prime Minister to replace Ranariddh on 6 August

1997,[182] Sihanouk charged that Ranariddh's ouster was illegal and renewed his offer to abdicate the

throne, a plan which did not materialise.[183] In September 1998, Sihanouk meditated political talks

in Siem Reap after the FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) staged demonstrations against

the CPP-led government for irregularities over the 1998 general elections. The talks broke down at the

end of the month, after Hun Sen narrowly escaped an assassination attempt which he accused Sam

Rainsy of masterminding the attack.[184] Two months later in November 1998, Sihanouk brokered a

second round of political talks between the CPP and FUNCINPEC,[185] whereby an agreement was

reached for another coalition government between the CPP and FUNCINPEC.[184]

Sihanouk maintained a monthly bulletin, which he wrote commentaries over governance issues and

posted photo souvenirs of Cambodia in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 1997, a character known by the

name of "Ruom Rith" started to appear in the monthly bulletin and became extremely critical of Hun

Sen and the government. Hun Sen reportedly became extremely unhappy with the commentaries, and

called on the king to stop publishing the commentaries on two occasions in 1998 and

2003.[186][187] According to Ranariddh, Ruom Rith was an alter ego of Sihanouk, a claim which the latter

vehemently denies.[188] In July 2002, Sihanouk expressed concern over the absence of detailed

constitutional provisions over the organisation and functioning of the Cambodian throne

council.[189] When Hun Sen rejected Sihanouk concern, the latter issued a letter in September 2002

threatening to abdicate so as to force the throne council to convene and elect a new monarch.[190]

General elections were held again in July 2003, whereby the CPP won the most votes but failed to

secure two-thirds of all parliamentary seats as required by the constitution to form a new government.

The two runner-up parties of the election, FUNCINPEC and SRP[191] filed complaints over alleged

electoral irregularities with the Constitutional Council, which were turned down in August 2003.[192] When

they announced their decision to boycott the swearing in ceremony of parliamentarians, Sihanouk

attempted to pressure both parties to change their decision, threatening to abstain from presiding the

ceremony if they did not follow through his wishes.[193] The Constitutional Council subsequently advised

Sihanouk to preside over the swearing-in ceremony,[194] which was held later in October 2003 with

Sihanouk presiding over the ceremony.[195] The CPP, FUNCINPEC and SRP held additional talks into

2004 and Sihanouk proposed a tripartite unity government consisting of the three political parties, which

was rejected by Hun Sen and Ranariddh. At the same time, political stalemate persisted until June

2004 due to conflicting demands from the three political parties.[196][197]

Abdication and final years[edit]

On 6 July 2004, Sihanouk penned an open letter in stating his intention to abdicate, after expressing

unhappiness at being ignored by Hun Sen and Ranariddh in his attempts to broker the political

stalemate. At the same time, Hun Sen and Ranariddh had agreed to introduce a constitutional

amendment that provided for an open voting system, which requires parliamentarians to select cabinet

ministers and the President of the National Assembly by a show of hands. Sihanouk disapproved of the

open voting system, and called on Senate President Chea Sim not to sign the amendment. When Chea

Sim heeded his advice, he was ferried out of the country shortly before the National Assembly

convened to vote on the amendment 15 July.[198] A new coalition government was formed on the 17 July

2004 between the CPP and FUNCINPEC, while the SRP remained as an opposition party.[199] On 6

October 2004, Sihanouk wrote a letter calling for the throne council to convene and select a successor.

The National Assembly and Senate held emergency meetings to pass laws allowing for the abdication

of the monarch, and on 14 October the throne council unanimously voted to select Norodom Sihamoni

as Sihanouk's successor.[200] Sihamoni was crowned as the King of Cambodia on 29 October 2004.[201]

In March 2005, Sihanouk expressed concerns over allegations of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam of

delineating borders at the expense of Cambodian territory. Two months later, Sihanouk formed the

Supreme National Council on Border Affairs (SNCBA) to address concerns over Cambodian borders

with its neighbours, and appointed himself as the chairman.[201]The SRP and Chea Sim expressed

support for Sihanouk for the formation of the SNCBA, while Hun Sen formed a separate body, National

Authority on Border Affairs (NABA) to deal with border concerns and stated that the SNCBA may only

serve as an advisory body.[202] In October 2005, Sihanouk dissolved the SNCBA, around the same time

Hun Sen signed a border treaty with Vietnam.[203] In August 2007, a US based human rights NGO called

for Sihanouk's State immunity to be lifted, so as to allow him to testify in the Extraordinary Chambers in

the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).[204]Sihanouk responded to the call by inviting the ECCC public affairs

officer, Peter Foster for a discussion session on his personal experience under the Khmer Rouge

regime.[205] Both Hun Sen and FUNCINPEC criticized the suggestion, with the latter calling the NGO as

disrespectful to Sihanouk.[204] The ECCC subsequently rejected his invitation.[206]

The following year, bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia became strained due

to overlapping claims of the land area surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple. Sihanouk issued a

communique in July 2008 to emphasise the Khmer architecture of the temple as well as ICJ's 1962

ruling of the temple in favour of Cambodia.[207] In August 2009, Sihanouk stated that he would stop

posting messages on his personal website due to his advancing age, which made it difficult for him to

keep up with his personal duties.[208] Sihanouk spent most of his time in Beijing for medical treatment.

He made a final public appearance in Phnom Penh on his 89th birthday and 20th anniversary of the

Paris Peace Accords on 30 October 2011. Thereafter, Sihanouk expressed his intent to stay in

Cambodia indefinitely,[209] but returned to Beijing in January 2012 for further medical treatment at the

advise of his Chinese doctors.[210]

Death and funeral[edit]

Main article: Death and state funeral of Norodom Sihanouk

Funeral procession of King Norodom Sihanouk.

In January 2012, Sihanouk issued a letter to express his wish to be cremated following his death, and

to place his ashes in a golden urn.[211] A few months later in September 2012, Sihanouk stated his intent

not to return to Cambodia from Beijing for his 90th birthday, citing fatigue as the reason.[212] On 15

October 2012, Sihanouk died of a heart attack at 1.20 am, Phnom Penh time.[213] King Norodom

Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen led a delegation of officials to Beijing on the same day.[214] The

Cambodian government announced an official mourning period of 7 days between 17 October 2012

and 24 October 2012, and state flags were told to fly at one-third of the mast height. Two days later,

Sihanouk's body was brought back from Beijing on an Air China flight,[215] and about 1.2 million people

lined the streets from the airport to the royal palace to witness the return of Sihanouk's cortege.[216]

In late November 2012, Hun Sen announced plans for Sihanouk's funeral and cremation to be held in

February 2013. Sihanouk's body lay in state at the royal palace for[217] the next three months until the

funeral was held on 1 February 2013.[218] A 6,000 metre street procession was held, and Sihanouk's

body was subsequently kept at the royal crematorium until 4 February 2013 when his body was

cremated.[219] The following day, the royal family scattered some of Sihanouk's ashes into the Tonle

Sap river while the rest were kept in the palace's throne hall for about a year.[220] In October 2013, a

stupa featuring a bronze statue of Sihanouk was inaugurated next to the Independence Monument.[221]In

July 2014, Sihanouk's ashes were interred at the silver pagoda next to those of one of his daughters,

Kantha Bopha.[222]

Artistic works[edit]

Statue of Norodom Sihanouk in Phnom Penh.

Film-making [edit] Main article: Norodom Sihanouk filmography

Sihanouk produced about 50 films throughout his lifetime.[223] He developed an interest for the cinema

from a young age, which he attributed to frequent trips to the cinema with his parents.[1] Shortly after

becoming king in 1941, Sihanouk began experimenting with film-making,[224] and sent students to study

filmmaking in France.[225] When the film Lord Jim was released in 1965, Sihanouk became vexed with

the negative portrayal the film gave of Cambodia.[226] Sihanouk responded by producing his first feature

film, Apsara in 1966 which was marked with a positive portrayal of Cambodia. Sihanouk went on to

produce, direct and act in another eight more films between 1966 and 1969, and roped in members of

the royal family and military generals to star in his films.[227] Sihanouk had expressed that his films were

created with the intent of portraying Cambodia in a positive light,[228] and Australian historian Milton

Osborne also noted that the films were filled with Cold War[229] and nationalist propaganda

themes.[230] Sihanouk former adviser, Charles Meyer had that criticised his films created from the 1960s

were of amateurism standards, while the director of Reyum Institute, Ly Daravuth had similarly

commented in 2006 that his films lacked artistic qualities.[224]

In 1967, one of Sihanouk films, The Enchanted Forest obtained a nomination at the 5th Moscow

International Film Festival.[231] In 1968, Sihanouk launched the Phnom Penh International Film Festival,

which was later held for a second time as well in 1969. In both years, a special award category was

designated, the Golden Apsara Prize which Sihanouk became the only nominee and

winner.[230] Sihanouk stopped making films following his ouster in 1970, but started to produce films

again from 1987 onwards.[232] In 1997, Sihanouk received a special jury prize from the International Film

Festival of Moscow, and revealed that he received a budget ranging from $20,000 to $70,000 for each

of his film production from the Cambodian government. Six years later in 2004, Sihanouk donated his

film archives to the École française d'Extrême-Orient in France and Monash

University in Australia.[224] Sihanouk produced his last film, Miss Asina in 2006,[225] and went on to state

that he was ending all film production activities four years later in May 2010.[233]

Music [edit]

Sihanouk wrote at least 48 musical compositions between the late 1940s until the early 1970s,[234] which

combined elements of traditional Khmer and Western music.[235] From the 1940s until the 1960s,

Sihanouk's compositions were mostly based on sentimental, romantic and patriotic themes. Sihanouk's

romantic songs were reflected the numerous romantic relations that he had experienced, particularly to

that of his wife Monique,[236] and compositions including "My Darling" and "Monica" were dedicated to

her. His patriotic compositions were written with a view to highlight the positive aspects of particular

places, and at the same time foster a sense of patriotism and national unity in the Cambodian people.

Notable compositions, such as "Flower of Battambang", "Beauty of Kep City", "Phnom Kulen", and

"Phnom Penh" were written with patriotic themes. A few of his other compositions, including "Luang

Prabang", "Nostalgia of China" and "Goodbye Bogor" were sentimental songs[237] about neighbouring

countries including Laos, Indonesia and China.[238]

Following his overthrow as the head of state in 1970, Sihanouk wrote several revolutionary-style

songs[239] that praised the leaders of Communist countries, including "Hommage Khmer au Maréchal

Kim Il Sung" and "Merci, Piste Ho Chi Minh". Sihanouk's revolutionary-style songs were written as a

reflection of his gratitude to the Communist leaders, which had supported his GRUNK between 1970

and 1975.[240] From a young age,[1] Sihanouk learnt to play several musical instruments such as the

clarinet, saxophone, piano and accordion[231] Sihanouk led a musical band in the 1960s consisting

members of the royal family, who would perform French songs and his own personal compositions to

diplomats at the royal palace.[241] In his tours across Cambodian provinces, Sihanouk was accompanied

by the royal military orchestra and Cambodian pop singers.[238] Later as Sihanouk lived in exile during

the 1980s, Sihanouk hosted concerts to entertain diplomats whenever he was in New York City to visit

the United Nations Headquarters.[242] After he was reinstated as king in 1993, Sihanouk continued to

perform in concerts held at the royal palace on an occasional basis.[243]

Titles and styles[edit]

See also: List of honours received by Norodom Sihanouk

Styles of

King Norodom Sihanouk

Reference style His Majesty

Spoken style Your Majesty

Alternative style Sir

Sihanouk was known by many state and political titles throughout his lifetime,[244] and the Guinness

Book of World Records identifies Sihanouk as the royal who has served the greatest variety of state

and political offices.[245] When Sihanouk was crowned as the King of Cambodia in 1941, he was

bestowed with the official title of "Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman", which he

used for both reigns between 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004.[4] He subsequently reverted to

the title of Prince following his abdication from the throne in 1955, and was bestowed the title of

"Samdech Preah Upayuvareach" by his father and successor in 1955,[21] which translates as "The

Prince who has been King" in English.[246]Starting from the early 1960s when he became the Head of

State,[247] Sihanouk was affectionately known as "Samdech Euv" to most Cambodians,[248] ("Samdech

Euv" is a Khmer title which translates as the Prince Father in English.)[245]

In 2004, Sihanouk became known as the King Father of Cambodia,[249] with the official title of "Preah

Karuna Preah Bat Sâmdach Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preahmâhaviraksat"

(Khmer: ពះករុ� ពះ�ទសេម�ច ពះ នេ�ត�ម សហីនុ ពះម�វ �រក� ត) when he abdicated for a second

time.[245] He was also referred to by another honorific, "His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk The Great

Heroic King King-Father of Khmer independence, territorial integrity and national unity" ( ពះករុ�

ពះ�ទសេម�ច ពះ នេ�ត�ម សីហនុ ពះម�វ �រក� ត ពះវរ�ជបិ�ឯក�ជ� បូរណ"ពទឹកដី

និងឯក"ព&តិែខ) រ).[250]At the same time, he issued a royal decree requesting to be called "Samdech

Ta" or "Samdech Ta-tuot",[251] which translates as "Grandfather" and "Great-grandfather" respectively in

English.[252] When Sihanouk passed away in October 2012, he was bestowed by his son Sihamoni with

the posthumous title of "Preah Karuna Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preah Borom Ratanakkot"

(Khmer: ពះករុ� ពះនេ�ត�ម សហីនុ ពះបរមរតនេ*ដ+), which literally translates as "The King who lies

in the Diamond Urn" in English.[253]

Personal life[edit]

Sihanouk's name is derived from two Sanskrit words "Siha" and "Manu", which translates as "Lion" and

"Jaws" respectively in English.[254][255] He was fluent in Khmer, French as well as English,[256] and also

learnt Greek and Latin in high school.[257] In his high school days, Sihanouk

played soccer, basketball, volleyball and also took up horse riding.[1]He suffered from diabetes and

depression in the 1960s,[258] which flared up again in the late 1970s while living in captivity under the

Khmer Rouge.[259] In November 1992, Sihanouk suffered a stroke[260] caused by the thickening of the

coronary arteries and blood vessels.[261] The following year he was diagnosed with B cell lymphoma in

the prostate[262] and was treated with chemotherapy and surgery.[263] Sihanouk's lymphoma went into

remission in 1995,[264] but returned again in 2005 in the gastric region. He suffered a third bout of

lymphoma in 2008[262] and after prolonged treatment, it went into remission the following year.[265]

In 1960, Sihanouk built a personal residence at Chamkarmon District where he would live in over the

next ten years as the Head of State.[266] Following his overthrow in 1970, Sihanouk took up residence in

Beijing, where he lived at theDiaoyutai State Guesthouse in the first year of his stay. In 1971, Sihanouk

moved to a larger residence in the city which once housed the French embassy.[267] The residence was

equipped with a temperature-adjustable swimming pool,[107]cinema[268] and seven chefs to cook his

meals.[269] In 1974, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung built Changsuwon, a 40-room mansion for

Sihanouk.[270] Changsuwon was built near an artificial lake, and Sihanouk spent time taking boat trips

there and also shot a few films within its compound.[271] In August 2008, Sihanouk declared his assets

on his website, which according to him consisted of a small house in Siem Reap and 30,000 Euros of

cash savings stored in a French bank. He also stated that his residences in Beijing and Pyongyang

were guesthouses owned by the governments of China and North Korea respectively and that they did

not belong to him.[272]

Family [edit]

Sihanouk's spouse, Norodom Monineath, and their son Norodom Sihamoni photographed at Sihanouk's funeral.

To the extreme left is Sihanouk's half-brother, Norodom Sirivudh.

Sihanouk married Paule Monique Izzi in April 1952, the daughter of Pomme Peang–a Cambodian lady,

and Jean-François Izzi, a French banker of Italian ancestry.[273] Monique became Sihanouk's lifelong

partner,[95] and in the 1990s she changed her name to Monineath.[274] Prior to his marriage to Monique,

Sihanouk had married five other women including Phat Kanhol, Sisowath Pongsanmoni, Sisowath

Monikessan, Mam Manivan Phanivong and Thavet Norleak.[275] Monikessan died of childbirth in 1946

while his marriages to other women all ended in divorce.[276] Sihanouk sired fourteen children with five

different wives except for Thavet Norleak, who bore him no children.[277] Five children and fourteen

grandchildren disappeared during the Khmer Rouge years, which Sihanouk concluded that they were

killed by the Khmer Rouge leadership.[278][279]

Sihanouk had the following issue:

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Buppha Devi 1943 Phat Kanhol

Norodom Yuvaneath 1943 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Ranariddh 1944 Phat Kanhol

Norodom Ravivong 1944 1973 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni Malaria[280]

Norodom Chakrapong 1945 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Norodom Naradipo 1946 1976 Sisowath

Monikessan

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[281]

Norodom Sorya Roeungsi 1947 1976 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[281]

Norodom Kantha Bopha 1948 1952 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni Leukemia[280]

Norodom Khemanourak 1949 1975 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Botum Bopha 1951 1975 Sisowath

Pongsanmoni

Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Sujata 1953 1975 Mam Manivan Disappeared under

Khmer Rouge[282]

Norodom Sihamoni 1953 Monique Izzi

(Monineath)

Name

Year

of

birth

Year

of

death

Mother Cause of death

Norodom Narindrapong 1954 2003 Monique Izzi

(Monineath) Heart attack[283]

Norodom Arunrasmy 1955 Mam Manivan

Ancestry [edit] [show]Ancestors of Norodom Sihanouk

References[edit]

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663. ^ Jump up to:a b Jeldres (2005), p. 70. 664. Jump up^ Marlay and Neher (1999), p. 164. 665. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 211. 666. Jump up^ Chandler (1991), p. 195. 667. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 213. 668. Jump up^ Burchett (1973), p. 51. 669. Jump up^ Burchett (1973), p. 50. 670. Jump up^ Jeldres (2005), p. 79. 671. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 218. 672. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 219. 673. Jump up^ Jeldres (2005), p. 137. 674. Jump up^ Burchett (1973), p. 271. 675. ^ Jump up to:a b Marlay and Neher (1999), p. 167. 676. Jump up^ Jeldres (2005), p. 178. 677. Jump up^ Jeldres (2005), p. 183. 678. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 226. 679. Jump up^ Press Staff (18 April 1975). "Cambodians Designate Sihanouk as Chief for Life". New

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777. Jump up^ Vong Sokheng (31 October 2011). "Return of the king".Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

778. Jump up^ Chun Sakada (19 January 2012). "Former King Sihanouk in China for More Healthcare". VOA Khmer. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July2015.

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780. Jump up^ Meas Sokchea (28 September 2012). "Beijing birthday bash for King Father". Phnom Penh Post. Archived fromthe original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

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782. Jump up^ AKP Phnom Penh (15 October 2012). "King and PM Depart for Beijing". Agence Kampuchea Press. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July2015.

783. Jump up^ AKP Phnom Penh (17 October 2012). "Cambodian People Flood to Receive King-Father’s Body". Agence Kampuchea Press. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

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785. Jump up^ Vong Sokheng (27 November 2012). "Date set for Sihanouk’s funeral". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

786. Jump up^ Rachel Vandenbrink (1 February 2013). "‘Last Chance’ to Pay Respects". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.

787. Jump up^ AKP Phnom Penh (4 February 2013). "Cambodia’s Late King-Father Cremated". Agence Kampuchea Presse. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved25 July 2015.

788. Jump up^ May Titthara and Shane Worrell (8 February 2013)."Sihanouk’s ashes enter the Royal Palace". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

789. Jump up^ Sen David (13 October 2013). "Sihanouk statue inaugurated". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

790. Jump up^ Sovannara (13 July 2014). "Late Cambodian King Sihanouk's Ashes Enshrined in Stupa in Royal Palace".Khmer Times. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

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Era". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved10 July 2015. 810. Jump up^ Widyono (2008), p. 157. 811. Jump up^ Kinetz et al. (2006), p. 6. 812. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 3. 813. ^ Jump up to:a b c Narong (2007), p. 342. 814. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 92. 815. Jump up^ Chandler (1991), p. 121. 816. Jump up^ Jeldres (2005), p. 194. 817. Jump up^ Widyono (2008), p. 280. 818. Jump up^ Post Staff (15 October 2012). " ពះករុ� ពះ�ទសេម�ច ពះ នេ�ត�ម សីហនុ

ពះម�វ �រក� ត ពះវរ�ជបិ�ឯក�ជ� បូរណ"ពទឹកដី និងឯក"ព&តិែខ) រ ពះអង-�ន.ងចូល ពះទីវង-ត". Agence Kampuchea Presse. Archived fromthe original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

819. Jump up^ LOR CHANDARA AND WENCY LEUNG (14 October 2004). "Abdication Won’t Diminish King’s Influence". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

820. Jump up^ Cabinet of Prime Minister Hun Sen (12 November 2012)."Selected Impromptu Comments during the Meeting and Handing out of land titles to People in the Communes of Roen and Tbeng Lej of Siemreap's Banteay Srey District". Cambodia New Vision. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

821. Jump up^ អត0បទ អង-"ពព័ត៌3ន នងិ បតិកម)រហ័ស (Press and Quick Reaction Unit) (13 November 2012). "សេម�ចេតេ&ពន�ល់ពី*រេ ប5 �ស់ ពះបរមប67 មរណ8មរបស់សេម�ចឪត ម9វ*រស:; វុធ*រ:រ&តិ និង*រែកលម=េល5ប>? *រ@ស់ែវងដីធA ី". Office of the Council of Ministers. Archived fromthe original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

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Returned". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

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832. Jump up^ Reuter (4 February 1995). "Sihanouk cured of cancer, says paper". New Straits Times. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

833. Jump up^ Saing Soenthrith (30 June 2009). "Retired King Will Return Home From China in July". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

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WELL". New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.

839. Jump up^ Poppy McPherson (7 November 2014). "A gift that keeps on giving". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September2015.

840. Jump up^ Georgia Wilkins (29 August 2008). "Sihanouk declares assets to debunk myth he's rich". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.

841. Jump up^ Jeldres (2005), p. 69. 842. Jump up^ Mehta (2001), p. 182. 843. Jump up^ Jeldres (2005), pp. II, III (Genealogy of HM King Norodom Sihanouk). 844. Jump up^ Mehta (2001), p. 5. 845. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), pp. 34–5. 846. Jump up^ Osborne (1994), p. 236. 847. Jump up^ DOUGLAS GILLISON (22 April 2008). "Retired King Says KR Murdered His Children,

Grandchildren". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

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