Sihanouk, Norodom

Sihanouk, Norodom (b. 31 Oct. 1922). King of Cambodia 1941–55, 1993– ; President of Cambodia 1960–70, 1975–6, 1991–3 Born Prince Samdech Preah at Pnom Penh, he was placed on the throne in 1941 by the French Governor-General on the death of his grandfather. He was subsequently closely supervised by the French authorities. In 1946, when the expelled French returned, he extended a careful welcome, and despite nationalist resistance, he chose to cooperate with them in order to gain eventual independence. This was finally granted in 1953, in the context of the Indochina War. He abdicated in favour of his father and became Prime Minister. He built up his own political movement, and suppressed all other parties, which gave him control of Cambodian affairs until 1970. He steered a neutral course between the USA and the USSR, which became all the more difficult after the outbreak of the Vietnam War.

In 1970 he was deposed in a US-backed coup by Lon Nol. He was offered asylum by Zhou Enlai ( Chou En-lai) in China, where he founded the National United Front of Cambodia. He returned in 1975 and became nominal head of state under Pol Pot, but in 1976 was put under house arrest. He went into exile again after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979. In 1982 he became President of an exiled coalition government, in alliance with the Khmer Rouge. He thus gradually managed to unite the opposition parties behind him, and be accepted by the UN as the official representative of the country. In a remarkable comeback, after the Vietnamese withdrawal from the country he was able to return as interim President from 1991. He was proclaimed King, albeit with largely ceremonial powers, in 1993.