King Norodom I turns Cambodia into a French protectorate.
Phnom Penh, danseuses du Roi se préparant à la danse.
31 October 1922
Norodom Sihanouk is born.
3 February 1930
The Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) is founded by Ho Chi Minh.
1940
Khmer Serei (“Free Khmer”) founded by Son Ngoc Thanh in Cambodia. It is formed of political groups of various factions, all demanding independence.
25 April 1941
Norodom Sihanouk is crowned King of Cambodia.
May 1941
During the Japanese occupation of Indochina, a meeting is held in a small Southern Chinese town uniting delegates of several clandestine organizations and leaders Ho Chi Minh, Pham Van Dong and Vo Nguyen Giap. The Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam) is founded.
7 December 1941
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, causing the United States to enter World War II.
1945
Franklin Roosevelt dies. Harry Truman succeeds him as President of the United States.
12 March 1945
During the Japanese occupation, Sihanouk declares Cambodia’s sovereignty.
2 September 1945
Ho Chi Minh founds the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), otherwise known as North Vietnam.
October 1945
Norodom Sihanouk resists French pressure to restore their protectorate over Cambodia.
The First Indochina War starts, sparked by Viet Minh insurrection against France.
1949
The first Khmer students arrive in Paris, including Saloth Sar, later known as Pol Pot. They get progressively closer to Communism. They found a Marxist study circle linked to the French Communist Party. They participate in the Committee for the Independence of Cambodia and the Khmer Student Association.
1 October 1949
Mao Zedong establishes the People’s Republic of China.
8 November 1949
France accords “limited independence” to Cambodia.
January 1950
China and the Soviet Union recognize North Vietnam.
1950-53
The Korean War opposes South Korea (supported by the United States, France and the United Kingdom) and the Communist forces of North Korea (supported by China).
1950-54
American military aid to French forces in Indochina increases. This enables the Americans to get a foothold in South Vietnam, even before France lays down arms.
30 September 1951
The Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party is founded at the urging of the Viet Minh. Some of its leaders come from the Communist Party of Indochina, while around a dozen were trained by the French Communist Party.
Late 1951
Viet Minh units enter Cambodian territory.
June 1952
Norodom Sihanouk starts a royal crusade for independence and becomes increasingly active in the fight against the Viet Minh, who control several Cambodian provinces.
General Eisenhower is elected President of the United States, with Richard Nixon as his Vice-President.
6 March 1953
Joseph Stalin dies. Nikita Khrushchev succeeds him as the leader of the Soviet Union.
9 November 1953
Cambodia becomes an independent country. Penn Nouth is its Prime Minister.
1953
Several “Marxist” Cambodian students return from Paris, including Saloth Sar.
7 May 1954
The French are defeated at Dien Bien Phu by Vietnamese forces commanded by General Giap.
20 July 1954
The Geneva Accords on South-East Asia are signed. Vietnam is split in two until general elections are held on the reunification of the country. France recognizes North Vietnam. Norodom Sihanouk gets it to recognize the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Cambodia.
8 September 1954
The South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is founded under the auspices of the United States in order to stop Communism from spreading in Asia.
3 March 1955
Norodom Sihanouk abdicates in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit.
April 1955
Prince Sihanouk founds an inclusive political party, the Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People’s Socialist Community), of which he is leader. Sihanouk represents Cambodia at the first conference of non-aligned countries, in Bandung (Indonesia).
14 May 1955
The Warsaw Pact is created.
16 June 1955
General Diem becomes president of South Vietnam. He denounces the Geneva Accords with the support of the United States.
11 September 1955
Legislative elections are held in Cambodia. The Sangkum wins.
26 February 1956
The Soviet Communist Party’s 20th congress is held. Start of deStalinisation.
28 April 1956
The French leave Vietnam. The American presence in South Vietnam becomes more important.
The Viet Cong start their armed resistance against General Diem’s regime.
29 May 1958
General De Gaulle is elected President of the Council (Prime Minister) of France.
31 May 1958
China starts its Great Leap Forward, an enormous effort to increase industrial and agricultural production.
3 April 1960
King Norodom Suramarit dies. The throne passes to his wife, Queen Kossomak.
14 June 1960
Norodom Sihanouk is elected head of state in a referendum.
7 November 1960
John F. Kennedy is elected President of the United States.
20 December 1960
The National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) is founded.
1960
Start of political disagreements between China and the Soviet Union. The USSR stops giving economic and technical aid to China.
1962
Khieu Samphan and Hou Youn, “progressive” militants and future Khmer Rouge leaders, join the Sangkum. They are elected members of Parliament. Norodom Sihanouk names Khieu Samphan Minister of Commerce.
October 1963
Saloth Sar, Ieng Sary and Son Sen, Communists called “Khmer Rouge” by Sihanouk, go underground.
1 November 1963
General Diem is overthrown and assassinated with the help of the CIA.
10 November 1963
Norodom Sihanouk refuses American economic and military aid and expels American diplomats from the country.
Norodom Sihanouk nationalizes banks and private business.
6 June 1964
France reestablishes diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
15 October 1964
Nikita Khrushchev is deposed and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev (General Secretary of the Communist Party), and Alexei Kosygin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers).
3 November 1964
Lyndon B. Johnson is elected President of the United States.
14 February 1965
The first Conference of the Indochinese Peoples is held in Phnom Penh.
20 February 1965
General Thieu and General Nguyen Cao Ky share power in Saigon.
1 May 1965
American forces bombard the region called “Duck’s Beak”, on the border with Cambodia.
3 May 1965
Cambodia and the United States cease all diplomatic relations.
9 December 1965
General De Gaulle is elected President of France.
18 April 1966
The Chinese Cultural Revolution starts.
1 September 1966
A triumphant De Gaulle visits Cambodia. He gives a speech in Phnom Penh.
11 September 1966
Legislative elections are held in Cambodia. Sihanouk does not choose the Sangkum candidates. For the first time, the majority in the National Assembly is on the right.
18 October 1966
General Lon Nol, the Prime Minister, sets up his government.
26 November 1966
Prince Sihanouk creates a leftist “counter-government”. Khieu Samphan, Hu Nim and Hou Youn are in it.
American forces start military operations on the South Vietnam-Cambodia border.
2 April 1967
Civil unrest erupts in the province of Battambang. It is encouraged by the Communists in order to resist Lon Nol’s expropriations. This worries Norodom Sihanouk. Lon Nol orders violent repression.
April 1967
The Communist MPs and ministers Hou Youn, Hu Nim and Khieu Samphan go underground.
30 April 1967
Lon Nol resigns. Penn Nouth is elected Prime Minister of a caretaker government on 3 May.
30 June 1967
Phnom Penh starts diplomatic relations with North Vietnam.
30 January 1968
American forces start the Tet Offensive. Tet is the Vietnamese New Year. The Viet Cong start a general offensive against more than a hundred cities in South Vietnam. They occupy several provincial cities, particularly Hue.
3 April 1968
North Vietnam is interested in negotiating with the Americans.
13 June 1968
The Conference on Vietnam starts in Paris.
1 November 1968
President Johnson decides to stop bombarding North Vietnam.
5 November 1968
Richard Nixon is elected President of the United States. He promises a more offensive military strategy.
Early 1969
The Viet Cong start to train the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge have less than a thousand members.
27 April 1969
General De Gaulle resigns as President of France.
22 May 1969
South Vietnam opens its embassy in Phnom Penh.
10 June 1969
The Viet Cong becomes the PRG (Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam).
11 June 1969
Norodom Sihanouk resumes diplomatic relations with the United States, who promise to respect Cambodia’s independence.
15 June 1969
Georges Pompidou is elected President of France.
1 August 1969
Penn Nouth resigns due to ill health. Lon Nol succeeds him on 12 August and immediately leaves for France for health reasons. Prince Sirik Matak stands in for him.
Ho Chi Minh dies. Prince Sihanouk attends the funeral in Hanoi.
3 November 1969
Televised speech by Nixon on the “Vietnamization” of the Vietnam War.
1969
Frontier skirmishes between China and the Soviet Union.
December 1969
The Sangkum Congress is held on Sihanouk’s orders. The Sangkum opposes Sirik Matak’s denationalization project.
7 January 1970
Prince Sihanouk leaves the country for a tour of foreign capitals, starting with Paris.
11 March 1970
The embassies of both South and North Vietnam are looted upon the orders of Lon Nol.
13 March 1970
Norodom Sihanouk leaves Paris to go to Moscow.
18 March 1970
Norodom Sihanouk is deposed by a coup d’état organized by Sirik Matak and Lon Nol. Lon Nol forms a government. Cheng Heng becomes puppet head of state. Sihanouk learns of the coup in Moscow. He leaves for Beijing.
20 March 1970
The United States recognizes Lon Nol’s regime. France does not end diplomatic relations with Phnom Penh.
21 March 1970
Pham Van Dong, the North Vietnamese Prime Minister, secretly travels to Beijing to pledge Hanoi’s support to Sihanouk. Both meet Zhou Enlai.
23 March 1970
Sihanouk gives a speech on the radio from Beijing which is broadcast by both Radio Beijing and Radio Hanoi. In it, he announces the founding of the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK). He orders the armed resistance and overthrow of Lon Nol and Sirik Matak’s regime.
24 March 1970
The three Khmer MPs who had gone underground in 1967 make an appearance in Beijing. They are Hou Youn, Hu Nim and Khieu Samphan. They join FUNK and give their unconditional support to Prince Sihanouk.
26-28 March 1970
There is popular unrest in favor of Sihanouk in Kompong Cham. Lon Nol represses the protests. Tens of thousands of protesters make their way to Phnom Penh.
March 1970
Lon Nol orders the massacre of all Vietnamese in Cambodia. He organizes a propaganda campaign against Sihanouk through posters and loudspeaker announcements. Children are arrested. One of them is Prince Norodom Ranariddh.
24-25 April 1970
A Conference of the Peoples of Indochina is held at Norodom Sihanouk’s urging in order to coordinate the fight in three countries (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam).
30 April 1970
President Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia. American troops enter Cambodia on 1 May from South Vietnam.
5 May 1970
Protests are held in American universities and there is disagreement in the Senate over the invasion of Cambodia. There is a shooting at Kent State University.
5 May 1970
The Royal Government of National Union of Kampuchea (GRUNK) is founded in Beijing. It is half Sihanoukist (Penn Nouth is Prime Minister, Chea San is Minister of Justice, and Sarin Chack is Foreign Secretary), and half Khmer Rouge (Khieu Samphan is Minister of Defense, Hou Youn is Minister of the Interior, and Hu Nim Minister of Information).
11 May 1970
Senators Cooper and Church propose an amendment in order to stop all American military operations in Cambodia.
Nixon visits China. In Vietnam, General Giap denounces Nixon’s “peace overtures”.
March 1972
Saloth Sar now leads the Khmer Rouge High Military Command.
10 March 1972
The head of state, Cheng Heng, is “retired” by Lon Nol, who declares himself President of the Republic. Sirik Matak becomes Prime Minister.
13 March 1972
Sirik Matak is removed from office. Son Ngoc Thanh, who had always been against Sihanouk, is named Prime Minister.
8 May 1972
Nixon orders the blockade of the ports of North Vietnam.
May 1972
Nixon visits Moscow.
7 November 1972
Nixon is reelected.
15 December 1973
American forces stop bombarding North Vietnam.
27 January 1973
Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho sign the Paris Peace Accords, which ends the Vietnam War.
February 1973
The bombardment of Cambodia intensifies. The population of Phnom Penh swells from half a million to 2 million.
February-March 1973
Norodom Sihanouk and his wife visit areas liberated by the Khmer Rouge, accompanied by leaders of the resistance. Near Angkor, Sihanouk meets Pol Pot (alias Saloth Sar) for the first time.
29 March 1973
The last American troops leave Vietnam.
March 1973
Lon Nol’s regime declines. Strikes are more and more common. Lon Nol declares a state of siege.
1973
Prince Sirik Matak openly criticizes Lon Nol’s regime, saying it leaves the way open to Communism. He is put under house arrest.
May 1973
The Watergate scandal erupts.
10 May 1973
The House of Representatives refuses to vote for the bombardment of Cambodia.
Congress calls for the end of the bombardment of Cambodia.
9 December 1973
Long Boret is named Prime Minister of Cambodia, a position which he will occupy until April 1975.
Early 1974
China occupies the Paracel Islands of Vietnam.
January-February 1974
Phnom Penh sees intense bombardment by the Khmer Rouge.
3 April 1974
John Gunther Dean, the new American ambassador to Cambodia, arrives in Phnom Penh.
May 1974
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing is elected President of France.
June 1974
Students protest in Phnom Penh. The Minister of Education is killed.
9 August 1974
Nixon resigns in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Gerald Ford succeeds him as president.
1 January 1975
The Khmer Rouge start their final offensive on Phnom Penh.
25 February 1975
The Americans organize an airlift from Thailand to keep Phnom Penh supplied with rice. A second airlift is organized from Saigon at the end of the month.
Moscow ends diplomatic relations with Lon Nol’s regime.
1 April 1975
Neak Lunong, a river port on the Mekong 50 miles from Phnom Penh, falls to the Khmer Rouge. Lon Nol agrees to leave Phnom Penh for half a million dollars. He goes to California.
12 April 1975
The American embassy closes as the last Americans leave Phnom Penh.
12 April 1975
France recognizes GRUNK.
17 April 1975
The Khmer Rouge enter Phnom Penh. The city is immediately evacuated of its 2.5 million people. Only around 20,000 remain.
The Khmer Rouge start killing the civilian and military members of Lon Nol’s regime.
20 April 1975
The Khmer Rouge demand that the Cambodians taking refuge in the French embassy be given up to them. Among them is Prince Sirik Matak, who is tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge.
30 April 1975
Saigon falls and is renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
May 1975
The Vietnamese occupy the Cambodian Wai Islands.
August 1975
Hou Youn is executed by the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary wield power while Khieu Samphan is the public face of the government.
2 August 1975
A Vietnamese delegation arrives in Phnom Penh. The Wai Islands are returned to Cambodia.
13 August 1975
Khieu Samphan (Vice Prime Minister of GRUNK) visits China, where he declares all problems have been solved in Cambodia.
9 September 1975
Norodom Sihanouk is “allowed” to visit Phnom Penh for two weeks.
December 1975
There is armed conflict on the Vietnam-Cambodia border in the North-East. The Khmer Rouge accuse the Vietnamese of instigating a coup d’état in Cambodia.
December 1975
Founding of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
December 1975
Norodom Sihanouk and his wife arrive in Phnom Penh after five years away. Their return is strongly encouraged by Zhou Enlai.
1976
The Helsinki Accords confirm the Soviet domination of the Eastern Bloc.
Early 1976
The first Khmer refugee statements are made in France. They reveal Khmer Rouge atrocities. The Khmer Rouge systematically massacre all those they consider “intellectuals”, including people who simply wore glasses or owned a pen.
Pol Pot and Ieng Sary order the arrest of civilian and military members of the Khmer Rouge.
5 January 1976
A new Cambodian state is founded: Democratic Kampuchea (DK).
8 January 1976
Zhou Enlai dies.
2 April 1976
Norodom Sihanouk resigns as head of state against the advice of those close to him, who fear reprisals. He is put under house arrest with his wife and his two youngest sons until 6 January 1979. Khieu Samphan and Pol Pot are named President of the Presidium and head of state, respectively.
7 April 1976
Deng Xiaoping is forced out of power in China.
24 June 1976
The two Vietnams are unified into one Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with Hanoi as its capital.
9 September 1976
Mao Zedong dies.
7 October 1976
The Gang of Four is arrested in China.
3 November 1976
Jimmy Carter is elected President of the United States.
10 April 1977
Hu Nim, Minister of Information, is arrested and tortured to death in Tuol Sleng. Tuol Sleng was a high school in Phnom Penh which was transformed into a torture and execution center formally called S21. Tens of thousands of people died there.
The eleventh Communist Party Congress is held in China. It marks the beginning of deMaoization.
30 September 1977
Pol Pot reveals the existence of the Communist Party of Kampuchea for the first time in a long speech. Until then, it had been referred to as Angkar, meaning “revolutionary organization” in Khmer.
1977
The military conflict between Vietnam and Cambodia intensifies.
16 December 1977
The first Vietnamese attack is pushed back by the Khmer Rouge, who enter Vietnam in January 1978.
31 December 1977
Vietnam and Cambodia end diplomatic relations. Phnom Penh denounces Vietnam’s push for an “Indochinese federation”. The Khmer Rouge continues purging its ranks all year. Several plots are discovered. Vietnam is accused of being involved. In the middle of the year, soldiers and leaders of the South-West Zone, loyal to Pol Pot, control much of the country.
1978
Sporadic border skirmishes take place all year between Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge forces. The purges within the Khmer Rouge continue.
Summer and Fall 1978
Almost the whole population of the provinces of Svay Rieng and Kompong Cham, east of the Mekong, is deported to the north (Pursat and Battambang). They are accused of plotting with the Vietnamese, and will be in great part massacred by those loyal to Pol Pot before the arrival of the Vietnamese in 1979.
Vietnam joins Comecon (the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). The Soviets start sending it massive shipments of military equipment.
28 September 1978
The Khmer Rouge, sensing their imminent downfall, invite Sihanouk to dinner. Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary give him some gifts of food. Norodom Sihanouk sees Penn Nouth again.
3 December 1978
Radio Hanoi announces the founding of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (FUNSK), opposed to the Khmer Rouge. Its leader is Heng Samrin, a former Khmer Rouge from the east who deserted.
25 December 1978
The Vietnamese start their general offensive against Cambodia.
January 1979
China organizes the liberation of Norodom Sihanouk, who arrives in Beijing with his wife and two sons. Also with him is Penn Nouth and his wife. They take the last Chinese plane out of Phnom Penh. We learn that during the Khmer Rouge period, the lives of Sihanouk and his closest family members were spared due to Chinese pressure. However, five of his children, fourteen of his grandchildren, and several other family members died between 1975 and 1978.
7 January 1979
Phnom Penh falls to the Vietnamese.
5 September 1979
In Havana, during the conference of non-aligned countries, Pham Van Dong declares the Cambodian situation “irreversible”.
December 1979
Pol Pot’s Communist Party of Kampuchea is formally dissolved. The Khmer Rouge continue to exist, but they are no longer “Communist”.
15 December 1979
Khieu Samphan becomes head of state of the Khmer Rouge government, succeeding Pol Pot, who is too much of a liability both inside and outside of Cambodia.
1979
The USSR, who supports the Vietnamese invasion, uses Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam as a base and communications center.
1979
There is armed conflict on the Vietnam-China border.
1979
Resistance against the Vietnamese invasion starts in Cambodia. There are three factions: the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front (KPNLF) founded by Son Sann, a former minister of Sihanouk’s, and various resistance groups loyal to Norodom Sihanouk (Moulinaka, Khleang Moeung, etc.). However, Norodom Sihanouk will remain abroad until early 1981.
31 March 1981
Norodom Sihanouk founds the Funcinpec Party (from the French acronym for the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia). The Sihanoukist guerrillas join the Sihanoukist National Army (SNA).
4 September 1981
The three political leaders, Norodom Sihanouk (Funcinpec), Son Sann (KPNLF), and Khieu Samphan (Khmer Rouge) sign the Singapore Accords, for common action against Vietnam.
22 June 1982
The Treaty of Kuala Lumpur is signed. It founds a Cambodian government in exile, the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), a tripartite and anti-Vietnamese entity. This alliance between Communists and nationalists did not come about without some conflict, but the three parties still had a common goal: the removal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia.
1982-1985
Norodom Sihanouk expresses his wish to leave political office several times. However, he will remain president of the CGDK due to pressure from every quarter, both in Cambodia and abroad.
illustration extraite de la BD de Tian, “L’année du lièvre.” ⓒ Gallimard, 2011.
Timeline by Sophie Moscoso for the original 1985 program.