Norodom Sihanouk

Cambodian monarch and politician (1922–2012)

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Lived 1922–2012, aged 90

Wikipedia
83 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1922–2012
Aged 90
Known for
De Gaulle, the Last Ki…
2017

Summary

Updated 2026-06-10

He was king twice, prime minister, head of state, filmmaker, songwriter, and exile — sometimes all within the same decade. Norodom Sihanouk steered Cambodia out of French rule, flirted with communists, backed the Khmer Rouge, then spent years under their house arrest, only to return as monarch again decades later.

Biography

About

Sihanouk became king in 1941 at the death of his grandfather, while Cambodia remained a French colony. He secured independence in 1953, then abdicated two years later so his father could reign while he ran for prime minister — his party Sangkum swept the elections, and he governed through one-party rule and suppressed dissent. After his father died in 1960, he took the title Chief of State, leaning closer to the communist bloc despite official neutrality. The 1970 coup ousted him; he fled to China and North Korea, formed a government-in-exile, and urged Cambodians to back the Khmer Rouge in th…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk

said1987

My personal indignation cannot be compared with the magnitude of my concern for the sad fate of our country!

— As quoted by Haing S. Ngor (1987) Surviving the Killing Fields, pages 46-47.

Norodom Sihanouk

saidJun 1973

I may live in Peking rather than Phnom Penh, but I'm still the same old Sihanouk. A little original, or bizarre if you prefer.

— Said during his exile in Peking, as quoted by Oriana Fallaci (June 1973), Intervista con la Storia (sixth edition, 2011). page 103.

Norodom Sihanouk

saidJun 1973

I don't want to become a kind of Hirohito who produces cameras, or an Elizabeth of England who cares only for horses.

— Said during his exile in Peking, as quoted by Oriana Fallaci (June 1973), Intervista con la Storia (sixth edition, 2011). page 103.

Norodom Sihanouk

saidJun 1973

Do you really believe that a man like me, who suffers for a country where B52s make 260 incursions a day, could miss the good life and jazz orchestras? I don't miss anything.

— Said during his exile in Peking, as quoted by Oriana Fallaci (June 1973), Intervista con la Storia (sixth edition, 2011). pages 105-106.

Norodom Sihanouk

said13 May 1969

Cambodia only protests against the destruction of the property and lives of Cambodians. All I can say is that I cannot make a protest as long as I am not informed.

— Stated two months (May 13, 1969) after American bombings in Cambodia began, as quoted by Henry Kissinger (2000), Years of Renewal, page 498.

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