King Norodom Sihanouk

Twice king of Cambodia (1941–55 and 1993–2004), who also served as prime minister, head of state, and president. Sihanouk steered a neutralist course in his foreign policy. In return for a North Vietnamese pledge to respect Cambodia’s frontiers, he allowed Vietnamese communists to operate covertly from bases inside eastern Cambodia. He subsequently rejected U.S. aid and assistance, relying on his immense popularity with the Cambodian people to keep radicals of both the right and the left under control. Under Sihanouk’s benign rule, Cambodia experienced 15 years of fragile peace and mild prosperity while much of Southeast Asia was in a state of upheaval. He abdicated the throne to his son in October 2004.