The politics of Cambodia are defined within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the king serves as the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. The collapse of communism set in motion events that led to the withdrawal of the Vietnamese armed forces, which had established their presence in the country since the fall of the Khmer Rouge. The 1993 constitution, which is currently in force, was promulgated as a result of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, followed by elections organized under the aegis of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. The constitution declares Cambodia to be an "independent, sovereign, peaceful, permanently neutral and non-aligned country." The constitution also proclaims a liberal, multiparty democracy in which powers are devolved to the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. However, there is no effective opposition to the Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power from 1984 up to 2023. His Cambodian People's Party won all 125 seats in the National Assembly in 2018 after the banning of opposition party CNRP and KNLF. KNLF became a main opposition exiled in Denmark after CNRP was dissolved. During the communal election in 2022 and the national election in 2023, there were no international observers. The government is considered to be autocratic.
Norodom Sihanouk was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in various capacities throughout his long career, most often as both King and Prime Minister of Cambodia. In Cambodia, he is known as Samdech Euv. During his lifetime, Cambodia was under various regimes, from French colonial rule, a Japanese puppet state (1945), an independent kingdom (1953–1970), a military republic (1970–1975), the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979), a Vietnamese-backed communist regime (1979–1989), a transitional communist regime (1989–1993) to eventually another kingdom.
The Khmer Republic was a Cambodian state under the United States-backed military dictatorship of Marshal Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975. Its establishment was formally declared on 9 October 1970, following the 18 March 1970 coup d'état which saw the overthrow of Norodom Sihanouk's government and the abolishment of the Cambodian monarchy.
The royal arms of Cambodia is the symbol of the Cambodian monarchy. They have existed in some form close to the one depicted since the establishment of the independent Kingdom of Cambodia in 1953. It is the symbol on the royal standard of the reigning monarch of Cambodia, currently King Norodom Sihamoni.
Norodom Suramarit was King of Cambodia from 3 March 1955 until his death in 1960. He was the father of King Norodom Sihanouk and the grandfather of Cambodia's current king, Norodom Sihamoni. Suramarit was born in Phnom Penh to Prince Norodom Sutharot. When his grandfather King Norodom died in 1904, Norodom's brother Sisowath took the throne. King Sisowath died in 1927 and was succeeded by his son Monivong.
Sisowath Monivong was the King of Cambodia from 9 August 1927 until his death in 1941. During his reign, Cambodia was a French protectorate. Monivong was the grandson of the poet-king Ang Duong, grandfather of Norodom Sihanouk and the great-grandfather of the current king, Norodom Sihamoni. His full regnal title and style was Preah Bat Samdech Preah Serey Monivarman Krom Luang Chao Chakrabangsa Sisowath Monivong Ney Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea which can be literally translated from Khmerized Sanskrit as "His majesty, glorious lord scholar-protector; His highness, lord of land and sea, Sisowath Monivong of the Kingdom of Kampuchea". He is the most recent monarch from the House of Sisowath, as all his successors are members of the House of Norodom.
Norodom Sihamoni is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk.
Chea Sim was a Cambodian politician. He was President of the Cambodian People's Party from 1991 to 2015, President of the National Assembly of Cambodia from 1981 to 1998 and President of the Senate from 1999 to 2015. His official title was Samdech Akka Moha Thomma Pothisal Chea Sim.
The monarchy of Cambodia refers to the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The King of Cambodia is the head of state and head of the ruling Royal House of Norodom. In the contemporary period, the king's power has been limited to that of a symbolic figurehead. The monarchy had been in existence since at least 68 AD except during its abolition from 1970 to 1993. Since 1993, the king of Cambodia has been an elected monarch, making Cambodia one of the few elective monarchies of the world. The king is elected for life by the Royal Council of the Throne, which consists of several senior political and religious figures. Candidates are chosen from among male descendants of King Ang Duong who are at least 30 years old, from the two royal houses of Cambodia.
Norodom Chakrapong is a Cambodian politician, businessman and former major-general of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. He is the fourth son of Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and also a half-brother of the current king, Norodom Sihamoni. Chakrapong started his career as a military pilot in 1963. After Sihanouk was overthrown in 1970, Chakrapong spent time under house arrest, then in Beijing as the Head of Protocol of then-Prince Sihanouk, afterwards living overseas before he joined the Funcinpec in 1981 and fought against Vietnamese occupation as a commander of the Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste. In 1991, Chakrapong left Funcinpec to join the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia between 1992 and 1993. When the CPP lost the 1993 general elections, Chakrapong led a secession attempt in 1993. In 1994, he was accused of joining a failed coup attempt which led him to be sent into exile. After Chakrapong was pardoned in 1998, he founded a private airline company, Royal Phnom Penh Airways. The airlines later stopped all operations in early 2006.
The 1970 Cambodian coup d'état was the removal of the Cambodian Chief of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, after a vote in the National Assembly on 18 March 1970. Emergency powers were subsequently invoked by the Prime Minister Lon Nol, who became effective head of state, and led ultimately to the removal of Queen Sisowath Kossamak and the proclamation of the Khmer Republic later that year. It is generally seen as a turning point in the Cambodian Civil War. No longer a monarchy, Cambodia was semi-officially called "État du Cambodge" in the intervening six months after the coup, until the republic was proclaimed.
Norodom Monineath Sihanouk is the Queen Mother of Cambodia. She was Queen of Cambodia from 1993 to 2004, as the wife of King Norodom Sihanouk. She is the widow of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, whom she married in 1955 as the "secondary consort". After Sihanouk and Norleak divorced in 1968, Monineath became the official spouse of the King.
Cambodia–Russia relations are the bilateral relations of Cambodia and Russia. The relations between both countries were strong since the Soviet era. Russia has an embassy in Phnom Penh. Cambodia has an embassy in Moscow. Both countries are full members of the East Asia Summit.
The National United Front of Kampuchea was an organisation formed by the deposed then Chief of State of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, in 1970 while he was in exile in Beijing.
General elections were held in Democratic Kampuchea on 20 March 1976, following the Khmer Rouge's victory over the Lon Nol government in April 1975. A total of 515 candidates for the 250 seats of Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly were put forward by the Communist-dominated National United Front of Kampuchea, 150 of whom were to be elected from among the peasantry, 50 from the industrial workers, and 50 from the Kampuchea Revolutionary Army. Following the election, the newly elected Assembly convened on 11 April, electing a new administration with General Secretary Pol Pot as Prime Minister and his interim predecessor Khieu Samphan as President of the State Presidium, ousting Prince of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk. Voter turnout was reported to be 98%.
Sisowath Kossamak was Queen consort of Cambodia from 1955 to 1960 as the wife of King Norodom Suramarit. After her husband's death in 1960, her son Norodom Sihanouk became chief of state, while Kossamak played an important public representational rule during her son's reign in 1960–1970. Sisowath Kossamak was born a Cambodian princess as the daughter of King Sisowath Monivong and his wife Norodom Kanviman Norleak Tevi. Her official title was Preah Mohaksatreiyani Sisowath Monivong Kossamak Nearirath Serey Vathana.
The House of Norodom is the ruling royal house of Cambodia. Its members are direct descendants of King Norodom (1860–1904), a son of the "Great-King", Ang Duong. The current head of the House of Norodom is the current king of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni. Norodom is one of only two royal houses of Cambodia. Its counterpart, the House of Sisowath, is named after another son of Ang Duong, Sisowath. Four members have served as Kings of Cambodia, and three as Prime Ministers led by the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) that ruled Cambodia as an authoritarian single-party state after it won all 125 seats in cities, towns and provinces throughout the country in the election campaign since 2018.
On 15 October 2012, former Cambodian King and Prime Minister Norodom Sihanouk died at the age of 89, in Beijing, China, after suffering health issues. His death was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bun Chhay. His body was brought back on 17 October 2012 by King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen. State flags flew at half mast, and the government announced a 7-day mourning period for the former king.
The House of Sisowath is one of the two royal houses of Cambodia, alongside its counterpart, the House of Norodom. Both it and its sister house have a claim to the throne as descendants of King Ang Duong. Its members are the descendants of King Sisowath who reigned from 1904 to 1927. It was the ruling royal house from 1904 to 1941. It has produced three monarchs of Cambodia, and five prime ministers.
The Royal Council of the Throne is a nine-member council of Cambodia responsible for selecting the Cambodian monarch. It was established by the constitution on 24 September 1993. The Council elects the king for life from among male descendants of King Ang Duong who are at least 30 years old, from the two royal houses of Cambodia. The nine members of the council include the Prime Minister, President of the National Assembly, President of the Senate, First and Second Vice Presidents of the National Assembly, First and Second Vice Presidents of the Senate, and the two heads of the order of Moha Nikay and Thommoyutteka Nikay. The council was active only in September 1993, when it reinstated Norodom Sihanouk on the throne, and October 2004, when it named his son Norodom Sihamoni as the new king. The voting is conducted through a secret ballot of the nine members.
