Khmer Republic

The Cambodian republic proclaimed in 1970 after a National Assembly vote removed Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Led by Lon Nol, it fought the Khmer Rouge and North Vietnamese forces before falling in 1975.

1970 Cambodian coup: The March 1970 political rupture in which Cambodia’s National Assembly removed Prince Norodom Sihanouk while he was abroad. The Assembly’s vote against Sihanouk enabled the republic’s creation.
Lon Nol: Cambodian general and politician who led the Khmer Republic as prime minister and president. He became the republic’s dominant leader after the 1970 coup.
Cambodia under Sihanouk: Cambodia’s political order under Norodom Sihanouk from independence in 1953 until his removal in 1970. The republic replaced Sihanouk’s political system and foreign-policy balance.
Democratic Kampuchea: The Khmer Rouge state that governed Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 under an extreme revolutionary agrarian program. It replaced the republic with a radically different political and social order.
Cambodian Civil War: The 1970–1975 conflict between the Cambodian government and communist insurgents, involving major foreign intervention. The republic’s survival became inseparable from this widening war.
Norodom Sihanouk: Cambodian monarch and political leader who ruled the country for much of the period from independence to 1970. His removal and later alliance with insurgents weakened the republic’s legitimacy.
Cambodian independence: Cambodia’s end of French colonial rule in 1953 and emergence as a sovereign state. The republic inherited the institutions and borders established after independence.
People's Republic of Kampuchea: The Cambodian state established in 1979 after Vietnam overthrew the Khmer Rouge government. Its Vietnamese-backed government represented a later, opposing postwar order.
Operation Menu: A secret U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnamese forces in Cambodia from 1969 to 1970. The bombing intensified the instability inherited by the republic.
Sisowath Sirik Matak: Cambodian prince and politician who served as deputy prime minister under Lon Nol. He supported Sihanouk’s removal and held senior office in the new government.

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