Norodom Sihanouk

Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman, better known as Norodom Sihanouk (Cambodian: នរោត្តម សីហនុ; Phnom Penh, French Indochina, October 31, 1922-Beijing, China, October 15, 2012), the son of King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Sisowath Kossamak, was known as the Father of the Nation for leading Cambodia to independence from French rule in 1954.

Today, he is the person who has held the most political positions and for the longest time in the history of the XX century, according to the Guinness Book of Records. He is considered by Cambodian scholar Daoy Kaew Samnang as one of the most influential Asians of the XX century.^{[citation required]}

He was also a musician and often sang at receptions held for him. He knew several languages, including Spanish. He directed some cinematographic and musical works.

He passed away in Beijing on October 15, 2012 at the age of 89.

Names and titles

Since his abdication, Sihanouk's official title in the shortest and most popular version is Preah Karuna Preah Bat Sâmdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preahmâhaviraksat.

The literal translation of said title in Spanish would be:

• Preah ("satisfied" of the word "Hindu"..
• Karuna ("merciful" refers to the Buddhist concept of Karuna).
• Bat ("pie", of the Sanskrit pādarelated to Latin pes, pedis, Spanish foot).
• Sâmdech ("sir, prince, excellence").
• Norodom (as a surname as "Norodom of Cambodia", used by the royal family since ancient times).
• Sihanouk (Sihanouk's own name; contraction of Siha-"leon," of the Sanskrit YesOf singa- in Singapore; and -hanoukof the Sanskrit hanu, "colmills").
• Preahmâhaviraksat (preah"sacred"; -mâha-Sanskrit "great" with Maha- in Maharaja; - vira-Sanskrit vīra "valent or eminent, male, hero, boss" related to Latin vir, viris, in Spanish Male; -ksat"warrior, ruler" of the Sanskrit word Kshatriya.

The word "father" (& # 34; King Father & # 34;) does not appear in the Cambodian title, only in Western languages as & # 34; His Majesty of him King Father Norodom Sihanouk & # 34; to distinguish that his son is the reigning monarch, which is His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni.

Sihanouk often referred to himself as Sâmdech Euv, which literally translates to "Mr. Dad".

Childhood

Prince Sihanouk attended the François-Baudoin Primary School in Phnom Penh. He completed secondary education in Saigon at the & # 34; Lycée Chasseloup Laubat & # 34;, where he studied until his coronation. He then received riding lessons at the Saumur Military School in France. When King Sisowath Monivong, his maternal grandfather, died on April 23, 1941, the Cambodian Royal Council elected Prince Norodom Sihanouk as King of Cambodia.

On the death of his grandfather, King Sisowath Monivong, he was selected to reign by the Royal Throne Council, an act believed to have been influenced by the authorities of the French colonial administration in Indochina. The first contender for the throne was Sisowath Monireth, who became the king's personal secretary and would later hold the regency for a short time.

He was crowned in September 1941, when he was 19 years old. The young king became famous in his early days for a life of extravagance and a special affection for women. In 1952 he would marry his sixth wife, Monique, of Italian and Cambodian parents.

Independence activities

Beijing, 1956: Mao Zedong, Peng Zhen, Sihanouk, Liu Shaoqi

World War II weakened one of the most powerful countries, France, which had ruled Cambodian political life and exploited Cambodian resources for more than a century. Independence sentiments spread throughout Indochina. In Cambodia, Sihanouk became a standard bearer of these aspirations for independence. Thus began a process of international pressure against France after 1945, which demanded that it abandon its colonies. Among Sihanouk's most famous acts was his self-exile in Bangkok in May 1953, claiming that he would not return to Cambodia until the French withdrew and granted them independence. With this act he drew the attention of the world and put France in diplomatic trouble.

On November 9, 1953, French colonial authority withdrew and Cambodia declared its independence. King Sihanouk is recognized as the Father of the Nation and gains an advantage over other political movements that were also involved in the independence processes.^{[citation needed]} He then makes his second great historic movement, as he abdicates on March 2, 1955 as king in favor of his father and thus remains free to run for prime minister. The great respect of the Cambodian people for the traditional monarchy and the popularity of Sihanouk propelled him to the position after a landslide victory in the elections.

On June 22, 1956, Spain awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit with a white badge.

In 1960 his father died, but he kept the title of prince, while his mother Sisowath Kossamak became Queen of Cambodia.

The Vietnam War

The most difficult period in its history would then begin for Cambodia. Prince Sihanouk declared the country neutral and protested the interventionism on the part of the United States, which attracted the antipathy of that country. The Americans believed that Sihanouk's policy of neutrality was completely false and that he allowed the Vietcong access to Cambodian territory for logistical activities.

Prince Sihanouk showed sympathy for the People's Republic of China and for Mao Zedong in particular. Famous people such as French President Charles de Gaulle, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and former US First Lady Jackie Kennedy visited Cambodia during his reign. Sihanouk suggested that communism would be inevitable in Southeast Asia. However, he was a staunch enemy of the young Khmer Rouge movement, whom he persecuted, since one of the objectives of this group was to turn Cambodia into a republic, which would mean a loss of privileges for the Cambodian Royal Family. ^{[citation required]}

All those confusing and ambiguous policies weakened him. Thus, on March 18, 1970, taking advantage of the fact that he was on an official trip to China, General Lon Nol carried out a coup, imposing a pro-Western government, in collaboration with the United States, which needed Cambodian territory to block the way to Hồ Chí Minh's advance guard. This coup was the origin of the Cambodian Civil War.

Exile

Sihanouk was unable to return to his country to stop the coup. Lon Nol allied with the United States and South Vietnam, directly involving Cambodia in the conflict and sparking a civil war in the country.

For its part, China began providing support to the Khmer Rouge, who used the name Sihanouk to build military strength. Many of them were fighting with the intention not only to drive out the Americans, but to restore Prince Sihanouk. China guaranteed the prince's stay and supported the constitution of his "government in exile."

Whoever had ruthlessly persecuted the Khmer Rouge sided with them against Lon Nol and the United States. A paradoxical decision, since years ago Pol Pot had affirmed: "The monarchy is a vile postulate that lives on the blood and sweat of peasants. Only the National Assembly and democratic rights will give Cambodians breathing space. The democracy that will replace the monarchy is a peerless institution, pure as a diamond". ^{[citation required]}

The Khmer Rouge would control their words and actions in exile, a particular task for Ieng Sary, as the prince himself would express to the Swedish ambassador to Vietnam, Jean-Christophe Oberg: "That abominable Ieng Sary me he is always spying (...) Mr. Ambassador, if you look at the foot of the curtain when you leave this room, you will see your feet. He is always on his feet to listen & # 34;

But the role that Norodom Sihanouk would play in the Khmer Rouge scheme would already be evident in March 1973. In that year, the Khmer Rouge had taken control of a large part of Cambodian territory, and the Paris Peace Treaty that stopped the American bombardment, gave the prince the opportunity to visit the liberated zone.

Nayan Chanda states of that visit: "During the trip, he and his wife, Princess Monique, were absorbed by the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, who successfully avoided any direct contact with the population. All he saw were gray faces that had to shake their fists in concert and shout slogans. Sihanouk didn't get a chance to do the usual acts of him—jumping through the crowd, touching people who would push forward with the chant of “Samdech Euv”! (Mr. Daddy)^{[citation needed]}.

Democratic Kampuchea

On April 11, 1975, in its last-ditch efforts to win the war, the United States offered Sihanouk the reestablishment of his government in Phnom Penh and the removal of Lon Nol's government. Among one of the many American political mistakes in Indochina during the Vietnam War had been underestimating the enormous significance that the Cambodian people attached to the figure of their monarch. The Khmer Rouge published a blacklist (with Sihanouk's supposed approval) of the names of the top officials of the Khmer Republic who would have to be killed. The proposal came too late: a few days later, on the 17th, Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge.

On September 9, 1975, Beijing's Tian'anmen Square dressed up as a party to see him off on his return to the liberated Phnom Penh. His role in Cambodia would be formal. On April 4, 1976 he was forced to retire, so he was able to leave the country to take refuge first in North Korea and then in China. The reason the prince was not assassinated was the Chinese government's opposition to his execution.

The Vietnamese invasion

Vietnam did not support the Khmer Rouge offensives and, together with dissident Cambodians, launched a major military operation to defeat the leadership of Democratic Kampuchea. In this operation was one of the new protagonists in the country's history, the current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Sihanouk supported the resistance of the Khmer Rouge, whose leaders had taken refuge in the northeast of the country to once again form a guerrilla group against the new invaders.

In 1982 he formed the Government Coalition of Democratic Kampuchea, of which he was the president. Present in this coalition were Funcipec, his own party, Son Sann's KPNL and the Khmer Rouge.

Presidency of Hun Sen

Hun Sen's presidency then begins, in which Prince Sihanouk would recover much of his authority. Vietnam withdrew its forces from the country in 1989. On November 14, 1991, Sihanouk made another of his countless comebacks, this time hailed as a hero. A referendum proclaims the constitutional monarchy with his opposition and he is re-elected as constitutional monarch of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the country's new name since 1993. his health is not the best, but he accepts the new position at 75 years of age.

Amnesty for several of the Khmer Rouge leaders, including Ieng Sary, who are reintegrating into national life.

On October 7, 2003, he abdicated for the second time in favor of his son Norodom Sihamoní and decided to go abroad again. He settled in Pyongyang in 2004 and later in Beijing, where he would die in 2012.

Family

He was married six times and fathered 14 children over a period of 11 years. Among them stands out Norodom Sihamoni, who is the current king of Cambodia:

1. Neak Moneang Phat Kanhol (1920-1969, member of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia; married in 1942, divorced later)
   • SAR Samdech Preah Ream Bopha Devi (1943-)
   • SAR Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh (1944-)
2. SAR Princess Sisowath Pongsanmoni (1929–1974; married in 1942, divorced in 1951)
   • SAR Samdech Borom Reamea Norodom Yuvaneath (1943-)
   • SAR Samdech Norodom Racvivong Sihanouk (1944-1973)
   • Samdech Preah Mohesarra Norodom Chakrapong (1945-)
   • SAR Samdech Princess Norodom Sorya Roeungsay (1947–1976)
   • SAR Princess Norodom Kantha Bopha (1948–1952)
   • SAR Samdech Norodom Khemanourak Sihanouk (1949–1975)
   • SAR Samdech Princess Norodom Botum Bopha (1951–1976)
3. Anak Munang Thach (houses in 1943)
4. SAR Princess Sisowath Monikessan (HRH Princess Sisowath Naralaksha Munikesara, 1929–1946; married in 1944)
   • SAR Samdech Norodom Naradipo (1946–?????) Adopted son, his biological father is Prince Norodom Chantaraingsey
5. SAR Princess Samdech Preah Reach Kanitha Norodom Norleak (First Devisa Naralakshmi, born 1927; married in 1946 "formally" on March 4, 1955)
6. Mam Manivan Phanivong (Mam Munivarni Barni Varman, 1934–1975; married in 1949)
   • SAR Princess Norodom Socheatha Sujata (1953–1975)
   • SAR Samdech Preah Anoch Norodom Arunrasmy (1955-)
7. SM Reina Madre Norodom Monineath Sihanouk (before Paule-Monique Izzi, born on June 18, 1936; married on April 12, 1952 "formally" on March 5, 1955)
   • SM Rey Norodom Sihamoní (1953-)
   • SAR Samdech Norodom Narindrapong (1954-2003)

Honorary Distinctions

Cambodian Honors

• Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Order of Cambodia.
• Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Order of Monisaraphon.
• Sovereign Grand Master of the National Order of Independence.
• Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Order of Sahametrei.
• Sovereign Grand Master of the Cambodian Order of Agricultural Merit.
• Sovereign Grand Master of the Order of His Majesty the Queen.

Spanish honorary distinctions

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit (with white distinction) (22/06/1956).