Norodom Sihanouk

Time in office: Apr. 25, 1941–Mar. 2, 1955 (King)
Mar. 2, 1955–June 5, 1960 (Prime Minister under the kingship of his father)
June 5, 1960–Mar. 18, 1970 ("Head of State" under the queenship of his mother)
Aug. 19, 1975–Apr. 2, 1976 (Head of State)
Nov. 14, 1991–Sept. 24, 1993 (Head of State)
Sept. 24, 1993–Oct. 7, 2004 (King, Khmer: Preahmâhaksat)
Oct. 20, 2004–present ("King-Father", Khmer: Preahmâhaviraksat) Predecessor: Sisowath Monivong (till 1941);
Chea Sim (till 1991) Successor: Norodom Suramarit (in 1955);
Norodom Sihamoni (in 2004) Date of Birth: October 31, 1922 Place of Birth: Phnom Penh

; regular script Sihanouk4.png; born October 31, 1922), King of Cambodia until his abdication on October 7 2004, is now "King-Father (Khmer: Preahmâhaviraksat, see Names and titles section below) of Cambodia," a position in which he retains many of his former prerogatives as constitutional king.

The son of King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Sisowath Kossamak, Sihanouk has held so many positions since 1941 that the Guinness Book of World Records identifies him as the politician who has occupied the world's greatest variety of political offices. These included two terms as king, two as sovereign prince, one as president, two as prime minister, and one as Cambodia's non-titled head of state, as well as numerous positions as leader of various governments-in-exile.

Most of these positions were only honorific, including the last position as constitutional king of Cambodia. Nordom Sihanouk's actual period of effective rule over Cambodia was from November 9, 1953 (full independence granted to Cambodia) to March 18, 1970 (Lon Nol and the National Assembly depose Sihanouk).

Names and titles

Since his abdication, Sihanouk's official Cambodian title (short version, the most-widely used) is:
Preah Karuna Preah Bat Sâmdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preahmâhaviraksat

Sihanouk3.png Sihanouk6.png

The literal translation of the title :

Preah ("sacred," cognate of the Indian word ब्राह्मण, "brahmin")
Karuna ("compassionate," referring to the Buddhist concept karuna)
Preah ("sacred")
Bat ("foot", from Sanskrit , cognate of Latin pes, pedis, French pied)
Sâmdech ("lord, prince, excellency")
Preah ("sacred")
Norodom (given name of Norodom of Cambodia, used as a family name by his descendants)
Sihanouk (given name of Sihanouk; it is a contraction of siha-, "lion," from Sanskrit , cognate of singa- in Singapore; and -hanouk, from Sanskrit hanu, "jaws")
Preahmâhaviraksat (preah, "sacred"; -mâha-, Sanskrit "great," cognate with maha- in maharaja; -vira-, Sanskrit "brave or eminent man; hero; chief," cognate of Latin vir, viris, English virile; -ksat, "warrior, ruler," cognate of the Indian word Kshatriya).

The word "father" does not appear in the Cambodian title, but in western languages his title is translated as "his Majesty King-Father Norodom Sihanouk," to distinguish from the title of his son the new king, which is "his Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni."

, Sâmdech Euv, which literally means "Prince Dad," "My Lord Dad" (French: Monseigneur Papa).

Early life

Norodom Sihanouk received his primary education in a Phnom Penh primary school, the École François Baudoin. He pursued his secondary education in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam at "Lycée Chasseloup Laubat" until his coronation and then later attended Cavalry military school in Saumur, France. When his maternal grandfather, King Sisowath Monivong, died on April 23, 1941, the Crown Council selected Prince Sihanouk as king of Cambodia.

His coronation took place in September 1941. Rumors abounded during this period that the influence of France (the regional colonial power) accounted for his accession. Norodom Sihanouk is well-known for leading what some have termed an extravagant lifestyle, and being an unabashed "ladies' man." He married his sixth wife, Monique, an Italian-Cambodian, in 1952.

Leadership turmoil

After World War II and into the early 1950s, King Sihanouk's politics became more nationalistic and he began demanding that the French grant the country independence and depart, echoing the sentiments of many nations in Indochina, including Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. He went into exile in Thailand in May of 1953 and refused to return until independence was granted. He returned when his overtures met with success and Cambodia became independent on November 9, 1953. On March 2, 1955, King Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father, taking the post of prime minister a few months later. Following his father's death in 1960, he gained election as head of state, but received the title of prince rather than king.

While the Vietnam War raged, Sihanouk promoted policies he claimed would preserve Cambodia's neutrality. Alternately taking sides with the People's Republic of China, supporting the United States and espousing Third Way policies. In the spring of 1965, he made a deal with China and North Vietnam to allow the presence of permanent Vietnamese bases in eastern Cambodia and to allow military supplies from China to reach Vietnam by Cambodian ports. Cambodia and Cambodian individuals were compensated by Chinese purchases of the Cambodian rice crop by China at inflated prices. He also at this time made any number of speeches calling the triumph of Communism in Southeast Asia inevitable and suggesting Maoist ideas were worthy of emulation. In 1966 and 1967, Sihanouk unleashed a wave of political repression that drove many on the left out of mainstream politics. His policy of friendship with China collapsed due to the extreme attitudes in China at the peak of the Cultural Revolution. The combination of political repression and problems with China made his balancing act impossible to sustain. He had alienated the left, allowed the Vietnamese to establish bases within Cambodia and staked everything on China's good will. On March 18, 1970, while he was travelling out of the country, Lon Nol, the prime minster, convened the National Assembly which voted to depose Sihanouk as head of state and give emergency powers to Lon Nol. Prince Sirik Matak, a royal prince who in 1941, had been passed over by the French government in favor of his cousin Norodom Sihanouk's leadership role, retained his post as Deputy Prime Minister. After the coup Prince Sihanouk fled to Beijing and began to support the Khmer Rouge in their struggle to overthrow the Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh. When the Khmer Republic fell to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975, Prince Sihanouk became the symbolic head of state of the new régime while Pol Pot remained in power. The next year, on April 4, 1976, the Khmer Rouge forced Sihanouk out of office again and into political retirement. He then sought refuge in China and in North Korea.

The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978 ousted the Khmer Rouge. Although claiming to be wary of the Khmer Rouge, Prince Sihanouk was more than willing to again join forces with them in order to provide a united front against the Vietnamese. In 1982, he became president of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), which consisted of his own Funcinpec party, Son Sann's KPNLF, and the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese withdrew in 1989, leaving behind a pro-Vietnamese government under Prime Minister Hun Sen to run the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK).

Restoration

Peace negotiations between the CGDK and the PRK commenced shortly thereafter and continued until 1991 when all sides agreed to a comprehensive settlement which they signed in Paris. Prince Sihanouk returned once more to Cambodia on November 14, 1991 after thirteen years in exile.

In 1993, Sihanouk became once again king of Cambodia. During the restoration, however, he suffered from ill health and traveled repeatedly to Beijing for medical treatment.

Although the king had very limited political power, in mid-February 2004, after watching scenes of same-sex marriages in San Francisco, California (which were later declared invalid by State officials), he announced that Cambodia should recognize same-sex marriage. In the same statement, he also expressed support for transvestites. However, Cambodia's society remains conservative and same sex marriages are unlikely to be accepted by most Cambodians. In addition, the only real legal power presently lies in the hands of Hun Sen, the Prime Minister, who does not support same-sex marriage.

Sihanouk's leisure interests include music and films. He has become a prodigious filmmaker over the years, directing many movies and orchestrating musical compositions. He became one of the first heads of state in the region to have a personal website, which has proven a cult hit, drawing more than a thousand visitors a day, a substantial portion of his nation's Internet users. Royal statements are posted there on a daily basis.

King Sihanouk went into self-imposed exile in January 2004, taking up residence in Pyongyang and later in Beijing. Citing reasons of ill health, he announced his abdication of the throne on October 7, 2004. The constitution of Cambodia made no provision for such a move. Chea Sim, the President of the Senate assumed the title of acting Head of State (a title he has held many times before), until the throne council met on October 14 and appointed Norodom Sihamoni, one of Sihanouk's sons, as the new king.

Books

Norodom Sihanouk My war with the CIA (1973, ISBN 0713904496, ISBN 0394485432)

External links