Norodom Sihanouk

World Famous People

Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk was crowned king at the age of 18 by the French colonial authorities who thought that the young Sihanouk would make a tractable monarch. This judgment was proven wrong when Sihanouk later challenged the French to grant Cambodia independence in 1953. Since then, Sihanouk has played a central role in Cambodian politics, achieving both fame and blame for the fate of Cambodians as the country achieved peace and tranquility in the 1950s and 1960s and plunged into great tragedy in the 1970s.

In 1955, in order to release himself from royal ceremonial duties and in order to enter politics as a private citizen, King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated the throne. He then set up a political movement called Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People’s Socialist Community) that coopted all sectors of society. Through Sangkum, Sihanouk ruled Cambodia singlehandedly. He proclaimed himself to be the father of Cambodia in all fields and he referred to Cambodians as his children. With global geopolitical shift, Prince Sihanouk lost his political balance and was finally disposed by his own Prime Minister General Lon Nol in March 1970.

After he was overthrown, Sihanouk formed a government in exile called the Royal Government of National Union that included the Khmer Rouge. In actuality, the Khmer Rouge was in full control of the coalition and used Sihanouk to advance its course. When the Khmer Rouge seized power on April 17, 1975 in the name of the Royal Government of National Union, Sihanouk served as the head of state. He resigned the post in 1976 and was placed under house arrest at the Royal Palace by the Khmer Rouge. When the Vietnamese invade Cambodia in 1979, Sihanouk once again lived in exile. In 1980, he founded a political party, known by its French acronym, FUNCINPEC (National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, and Peaceful Cambodia), to fight against the Vietnamese occupying forces and the Vietnamese backed regime. His political force joined Son San’s Khmer People’s National Liberation Front and the Khmer Rouge to form the Coalition government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) with himself as the president.

In 1987, Sihanouk began to negotiate with Hun Sen for a solution to the Cambodian conflict, that lead to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement and paved the way for the 1993 United Nations sponsored elections. On September 1993, Prince Norodom Sihanouk was once again crowned King -- but this time one who reigns but does not rule. Since the 1993, Sihanouk has been sincere in attempting to lift Cambodia out of its past tragedy. However, Sihanouk’s role in Cambodian politics has been limited by his poor health and old age and continuing political conflicts. Despite these problems, Sihanouk has played a leading role in defusing political tensions in the Kingdom and mediating conflict between his son Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen. Sihanouk remains the symbol of national unity, a political icon with great dignity that commands respect from the majority of Cambodians.