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| Time in office: | April 24, 1941-March 3, 1955; November 20, 1991-October 7 2004 (King since September 24, 1993) | |
| Predecessor: | Sisowath Monivong (first time); Chea Sim (second time) | |
| Successor: | Norodom Suramarit (first time); Chea Sim (second time) | |
| Date of Birth: | October 31, 1922 | |
| Place of Birth: | Phnom Penh | |
His Royal Highness Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman (born October 31, 1922) is the former King of Cambodia. Having abdicated on October 7 2004 he reassumes the title of Prince. 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. 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 maternal grandfather, 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 the 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, His Royal Majesty Norodom Sihanouk was reinstated as King of Cambodia and his son H.R.H. Norodom Ranariddh had a meeting with Madame Marie de Roland-Peel, General Secretary of the British Committee for Free Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia & Burma and they agreed to join the Southeast Asia Imperial & Royal League, headed by H.I.H. Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh of Vietnam.
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.
Although his political power was very limited 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 there on a daily basis for his subjects' perusal.
Sihanouk went into self-imposed exile in January, 2004, taking residence in Pyongyang, North Korea, and Beijing, China. He announced his abdication of the throne on October 7, 2004.