Cambodia

1863: French protectorate established. November 9, 1953: Independence of the "Kingdom of Cambodia" from France. March 18, 1970: Prince Sihanouk, the Head of State, is ousted in a coup. October 9, 1970: The monarchy is abolished. Proclamation of the "Khmer Republic". April 17, 1975: The Communist Khmer Rouge take power. January 5, 1976: The "Khmer Republic" is renamed "Democratic Kampuchea" by the Khmer Rouge. December 1978: Vietnamese invasion. January 8, 1979: Phnom Penh falls into the hands of the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese occupiers create the "People's Republic of Kampuchea". June 22, 1982: Signing in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) of an agreement among the three anti-Vietnamese factions: (1) Prince Sihanouk, (2) the Khmer Rouge under Khieu Samphan and (3) the Khmer Serei under Son Sann. This agreement creates in exile the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK). April 30, 1989: The "People's Republic of Kampuchea" is renamed the "State of Cambodia" by the pro-Vietnamese communist government of Phnom Penh. February 3, 1990: "Democratic Kampuchea" is renamed "Cambodia" by the exiled government of the three resistance factions (National Government of Cambodia, NGC). September 17, 1990: First meeting in Bangkok (Thailand) of the Supreme National Council (SNC), guardian of Cambodia's sovereignty. The SNC includes the four Cambodian factions: (1) the pro-Vietnamese Hun Sen government, (2) Prince Norodom Sihanouk's partisans, (3) former prime minister Son Sann's partisans, and (4) the pro-Chinese Khmer Rouge under Khieu Samphan (and Pol Pot, alias Saloth Sar). July 1991: Prince Norodom Sihanouk is named President of the Supreme National Council (SNC). August 30, 1991: The Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP), in power since 1979, becomes the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). October 23, 1991: Signing in Paris of a peace agreement among the four Cambodian factions. October 31, 1991: The UN creates the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) (in French: APRONUC stands for Autorité Provisoire des Nations Unies au Cambodge) to ensure a peaceful transition until legislative elections are held in the spring of 1993. November 20, 1991: Prince Sihanouk is formally recognized as Head of State by the SNC. May 23-28, 1993: Legislative elections held under UN supervision. The FUNCINPEC, monarchist party of Norodom Ranariddh, Prince Norodom Sihanouk's son, obtains a relative majority of votes. June 3, 1993: Prince Norodom Sihanouk takes power as Head of State and as Head of Government. An attempt is made to form a coalition government composed of the FUNCINPEC under Norodom Ranariddh and the PPC under Hun Sen.