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His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman (born October 31, 1922) is the King of Cambodia. He was born in Phnom Penh, the son of King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Sisowath Kossamak.
Throughout Cambodia's turbulent history he has held so many positions that the
Guinness Book of World Records
identifies him as the politician who has occupied the world's greatest variety of political offices throughout his career. These
included two terms as king, 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.
He took his primary education in a Phnom Penh primary school, the Ecole Francois Baudoin. He pursued his secondary education in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam and
thence attended military school in Saumur, France. When his uncle, King Sisowath Monivong, died on April 23, 1941, the Crown Council selected Prince Sihanouk King of Cambodia,
after which he was crowned in September of the same year. Rumors abounded during this period that his accession was due to French
influence.
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 the region, including Vietnam,
Thailand, and Laos. He went into exile in
Thailand in 1952 and refused to re-enter
until independence was granted. He returned when his overtures were successful and the nation was granted independence on
November 9, 1953. On March 2, 1955, he abdicated in favor of his father,
taking the post of prime minister a few months later. Following his father's death in 1960, he was again elected head of state, but not granted the title 'King'.
As the Vietnam War raged, Sihanouk sought to preserve Cambodia's
neutrality. Alternately taking sides with the People's Republic of China and then the United States and espousing Third Way policies, he was
nevertheless unsuccessful in preventing the war from spilling over into his country. In March 1970, while he was out of the country, a coup d'etat
orchestrated by Lon Nol took place that ousted him from power. After the coup Prince
Sihanouk fled to Beijing and organized forces to resist 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 while Pol Pot remained the power behind the
throne. The next year, on April 4, Sihanouk was again forced out of office and
into political retirement. He then sought refuge in the People's Republic of China and North Korea.
The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978 ousted the Khmer Rouge. Although
wary of the Khmer Rouge, Prince Sihanouk eventually joined 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, which consisted of his
FUNCINPEC, Son Sann's KPNLF and Khmer
Rouge. The Vietnamese withdrew in 1989, leaving behind a pro-Vietnamese government under
Prime Minister Hun Sen called the People's Republic of Kampuchea.
Peace negotiations between the CGDK and the PRK commenced shortly thereafter and continued until 1991 when all sides agreed to a comprehensive settlement which was signed in Paris. Prince Sihanouk returned once more
to Cambodia on November 14, 1991 after
thirteen years in exile. In 1993, he was reinstated as King of Cambodia, although his
political power is very limited. Since his return he has been in poor health and rumor have consistently abounded that he would
again abdicate the throne. Throughout early 2004, he has traveled repeatedly to Beijing, China for medical treatment.
In mid-February, 2004, after watching
scenes of jubilant gay and lesbian couples receiving marriage licenses in San
Francisco, California, he announced that Cambodia, too, should recognize
same-sex marriage. In the same statement, he also expressed
support for transvestites. While carrying no legal force, this
proclamation (in which he states that God loves a "wide range of tastes") holds its own moral weight in a nation where the King
continues to enjoy substantial popularity for a lifetime of efforts towards his country's independence.
King Sihanouk's leisure interests include music and films. He has been a prodigious filmmaker throughout the years, directing
many movies and orchestrating musical compositions. He is 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 will usually be posted here on a daily basis for his subjects' perusal.
See also:
External links
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