King sihanouk biography

Norodom ranariddh

Sangkum era. During his lifetime, Cambodia was under various regimes, from French colonial rule until , a Japanese puppet state , an independent kingdom — , a military republic — , the Khmer Rouge regime — , a Vietnamese-backed communist regime — , a transitional communist regime — to eventually another kingdom since When his grandfather Monivong died in , Sihanouk became king amidst French colonial rule.

He abdicated in and was succeeded by his father, Suramarit, so as to directly participate in politics. Sihanouk's political organization Sangkum won the general elections that year, and he became prime minister of Cambodia. He governed the country under one-party rule and suppressed political dissent. After his father died in , Sihanouk assumed a new position as Chief of State of Cambodia.

First king of cambodia

Officially neutral in foreign relations, Sihanouk was closer to the communist bloc in practice. He returned as figurehead head of state after the Khmer Rouge's victory in His relations with the new government soured, and in he resigned. He was placed under house arrest until Vietnamese forces overthrew the Khmer Rouge in The following year, he became president of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea CGDK , a broad coalition of anti-Vietnamese resistance factions which retained Cambodia's seat at the United Nations, making him Cambodia's internationally recognized head of state.

In , the Supreme National Council of Cambodia was formed as a transitional body to oversee Cambodia's sovereign matters, with Sihanouk as its president. Sihanouk was reinstated as Cambodia's king. He abdicated again in , and the Royal Council of the Throne chose his son Sihamoni as his successor.