King Norodom Sihanouk

Biography

Born on October 31, 1922, in Phnom Penh, Norodom Sihanouk was crowned king in 1941 at age 18 by French colonial administrators who thought him pliant. He surprised them — leading Cambodia to independence in 1953 and steering a 'neutralist' course through the Cold War as head of state (he abdicated kingship to enter politics). His government was overthrown in a 1970 coup while he was abroad by the US-backed General Lon Nol. From exile in Beijing, Sihanouk aligned himself with the Khmer Rouge — his lifelong enemies — because they represented resistance to what he saw as American imperialism. His name and royal prestige gave the Khmer Rouge legitimacy they could never have achieved on their own, drawing peasant support from a population that revered him. When the Khmer Rouge took power, they kept Sihanouk under comfortable house arrest in Phnom Penh's royal palace — a golden prisoner. He was allowed out briefly to address the UN in 1975 to present Democratic Kampuchea's case; he did so, then returned to captivity. He was spared execution only because China's Zhou Enlai personally intervened with Pol Pot. After the Vietnamese liberation, Sihanouk eventually returned to Cambodia and was restored as constitutional king in 1993 under a UN-supervised peace agreement. He abdicated again in 2004 in favor of his son, and died in Beijing on October 15, 2012.

Key Battles