1922- . Cambodian politician, king 1941-55,
prime minister 1955-70, when his government
was overthrown by a military coup led by Lon
Nol. With Pol Pot's resistance front, he
overthrew Lon Nol 1975 and again became prime
minister 1975-76, when he was forced to
resign by the Khmer Rouge. Educated in
Vietnam and Paris, he was elected king of
Cambodia 1941. He abdicated 1955 in favour of
his father, founded the Popular Socialist
Community, and governed as prime minister
1955-70. After he was deposed in 1970,
Sihanouk established a government in exile in
Beijing and formed a joint resistance front
with Pol Pot. This movement succeeded in
overthrowing Lon Nol Apr 1975 and Sihanouk
was reappointed head of state, but in Apr
1976 he was forced to resign by the communist
Khmer Rouge leadership. Based in North Korea,
he became the recognized head of the
Democratic Kampuchea government in exile
1982, leading a coalition of three groups
opposing the Vietnamese-installed government.
International peace conferences aimed at
negotiating a settlement repeatedly broke
down, fighting intensified, and the Khmer
Rouge succeeded in taking some important
provincial capitals. In 1990 Sihanouk
returned to live in the `liberated zone' of W
Cambodia, continuing to insist, with Chinese
support, that the Khmer Rouge be part of any
coalition governmet.