Norodom Sihanouk

Biography

Norodom Sihanouk was born in Phnom Penh on 31 October 1922, the son of Prince Norodom Suramarit and Princess Sisowath Kossamak. After schooling in Phnom Penh and at a lycée in Saigon, he was chosen by the French colonial authorities to succeed his grandfather King Monivong and was crowned in 1941. Under Japanese pressure he proclaimed Cambodian independence in March 1945. After the French returned he campaigned for full independence, which he declared on 9 November 1953.

In March 1955 Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father so that he could enter politics directly. His movement, the Sangkum, won every seat in the 1955 election, and he served repeatedly as prime minister. After his father's death in 1960 he became Chief of State. He governed through a one-party system, suppressed opponents, and pursued a neutral foreign policy that leaned in practice towards China and the communist bloc.

On 18 March 1970 the National Assembly removed him in a coup led by Lon Nol. From exile in Beijing he formed a resistance front allied with the Khmer Rouge, and after their victory in 1975 he returned as a figurehead head of state. He resigned in April 1976 and was kept under house arrest until Vietnam invaded in January 1979.

In exile again, he founded FUNCINPEC in 1981 and in 1982 became president of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, which held Cambodia's seat at the United Nations. He chaired the Supreme National Council during the 1991 Paris peace settlement, became Chief of State again in June 1993 and was restored as king that September. He abdicated in 2004 in favour of his son Norodom Sihamoni and died in Beijing on 15 October 2012. He also made some 50 films and wrote many songs.