Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk (31 October 1922 – 15 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in various capacities throughout his long career, most notably as King and Prime Minister of Cambodia. In Cambodia, he is known as Samdech Euv. Cambodia was subject to various regimes during his lifetime, including French colonial rule (until 1953), an independent kingdom (1953-1970), a republic (1970-1975), the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), another communist regime (1979-1989), a state (1989-1993), and finally another kingdom (since 1993).
Sihanouk was the only child of King Sisowath Monivong's daughter, Princess Sisowath Kossamak, and Prince Norodom Suramarit. When his grandfather Monivong died in 1941, Sihanouk ascended to the throne in the midst of French colonial rule. Following the Japanese occupation of Cambodia during WWII, he won Cambodian independence from France in 1953. In order to participate in politics directly, he abdicated in 1955 and was succeeded by his father, Suramarit. That year, Sihanouk's political organization Sangkum won the general elections, and he was elected Prime Minister of Cambodia. He ruled the country as a one-party dictator, suppressing political dissent. Sihanouk took over as Cambodia's Head of State after his father died in 1960.
Sihanouk, while officially neutral in foreign relations, was closer to the communist bloc in practice. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, he fled to China and North Korea, where he established a government-in-exile and a resistance movement. During the Cambodian Civil War, he encouraged Cambodians to oppose the new government and backed the Khmer Rouge. After the Khmer Rouge's victory in 1975, he returned as a figurehead head of state. His relationship with the new government deteriorated, and he resigned in 1976. He was imprisoned in his home until Vietnamese forces overthrew the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
Sihanouk returned to exile and founded FUNCINPEC, a resistance party, in 1981. The following year, he was elected president of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), a broad coalition of anti-Vietnamese resistance factions that retained Cambodia's seat at the United Nations, establishing him as Cambodia's internationally recognized head of state. Informal talks were held in the late 1980s to end hostilities between the Vietnam-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea and the CGDK. The Supreme National Council of Cambodia was established in 1990 as a transitional body to oversee Cambodia's sovereign matters, with Sihanouk serving as its president. The Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1991, and the following year, the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was established. The UNTAC organized Cambodia's general elections in 1993, and a coalition government led by his son Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen was formed as a result. Sihanouk was re-elected King of Cambodia. He abdicated again in 2004, and his son Sihamoni was chosen as his successor by the Royal Council of the Throne. Sihanouk passed away in Beijing in 2012.
Sihanouk produced and directed 50 films between 1941 and 2006, some of which he also acted in. The films, which were later criticized for being of poor quality, frequently featured nationalistic elements, as did a number of the songs he wrote. Some of his songs were about his wife, Monique, neighboring countries, and communist leaders who supported him in exile. Sihanouk performed for diplomats in New York City in the 1980s. During his second reign, he also attended concerts at his palace.
