Lon Nol
Cambodian Field Marshal (1913-1985) · Cambodia · On the map · Died at 72
He overthrew a prince, abolished Cambodia's monarchy, and declared a republic - then watched it collapse in civil war. Sixteen days before the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh, he fled.
Lon Nol is read about 488 times a day, in 41 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
People around Lon
Is this everyone?
Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.
Correct this familyMedia & music
Photos 4
.jpg?width=1200)
Awards
About this person
Lon Nol was a Cambodian military officer who served twice as prime minister and repeatedly as defence minister before leading the 1970 coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk. He abolished the monarchy and established the Khmer Republic, a constitutional semi-presidential system that functioned as a military dictatorship with himself as commander-in-chief. On 10 March 1972 he became president. The Cambodian Civil War ground on. On 1 April 1975, with Angkar and the Khmer Rouge closing in, he fled to Indonesia, then to Hawaii, and finally California, where he died a decade later.