Prince Norodom Norindeth ( km, នរោត្តម នរិន្ទដេត, 1906?–1975) was a member of the royal family of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
. Active as a politician and diplomat during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, he started a notable political party.
[Corfield, J. ''The History of Cambodia'', ABC-CLIO, 2009, p.42]
Biography
Norindeth was a grandson of
Norodom of Cambodia and was educated at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
. Under the
French-imposed Cambodian constitution, any member of the Norodom or Sisowath descendants of King
Ang Duong
Ang Duong ( km, អង្គឌួង ; 12 June 1796 – 19 October 1860) was the King of Cambodia from 1841 to 1844 and from 1845 to his death in 1860. Formally invested in 1848, his rule benefited a kingdom that suffered from several centuries ...
could be chosen as the country's king, and after the 1941 death of
Sisowath Monivong
Sisowath Monivong ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ មុនីវង្ស, ;Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Langua ...
, Norindeth, along with
Sisowath Monireth
Sisowath Monireth ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ មុន្នីរ៉េត; 25 November 1909 – September 1975) was a Cambodian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Cambodia, during the French protectorate period, fr ...
and
Norodom Suramarit
Norodom Suramarit ( km, នរោត្តម សុរាម្រិត, ; 6 March 1896 – 3 April 1960) 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 C ...
, was one of several main candidates for the throne. However, the French authorities ultimately selected his 19-year-old nephew
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...
as king,
[Corfield, J. ''Khmers Stand Up! A history of the Cambodian government'', Monash University, 1994, p.6] though Norindeth was made a member of the Council of Regency.
In 1946 Norindeth formed the Liberal Party, initially known as the Constitutionalist Party. It was the first to be created in the country's history. The Liberals were broadly pro-French and advocated a gradual approach to self-rule, maintaining strong French links: Norindeth hoped to gain the guaranteed support of the elite, anticommunists, and the country's
Cham
Cham or CHAM may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
*Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia
**Cham language, the language of the Cham people
***Cham script
*** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script
*Cham Albania ...
minority.
Unlike their main rivals, the radical and pro-independence
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
of
Ieu Koeus
Ieu Koeus ( km, អៀវ កើស; 1905 – 14 January 1950) was a Cambodian politician. He served as President of the National Assembly of Cambodia from 1946 to 1949, and as Prime Minister of Cambodia for nine days in September 1949. Conside ...
and Prince
Sisowath Yuthevong, the Liberals were heavily funded by the French, who backed them covertly as a way of maintaining their influence. Norindeth organised Party meetings at his home, though these served to convince some observers that the Prince "had no idea of politics".
[Corfield, 1994, p.10]
The Democratic Party had initial electoral success and was for several years the most popular in the country. In 1950 its leader Ieu Koeus was assassinated, blame being pointed at a member of Norindeth's entourage.
[Kiernan, B. ''How Pol Pot Came to Power'', Yale UP, 2004, p.72] Norindeth fled to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
as a result of being linked with the assassin.
[Corfield, 1994, p.13] The Liberal Party, however, were to gain a temporary ascendancy in the Assembly as a result of the Democrats' disorganisation.
Norindeth returned to Cambodia in 1951 and was to leave the Liberal Party and join Sihanouk's
Sangkum
The Sangkum Reastr Niyum ( km, សង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយម, , ;Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Langu ...
political movement after its formation in 1955. Later that year he became the first permanent Cambodian delegate to
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
[UNESCO and Cambodia]
During the 1960s, he was successively appointed the Ambassador to
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(1961–63) and
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(1964-67).
Norindeth was one of the many members of the Cambodian royal family who were killed subsequent to the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
takeover in April 1975.
[Corfield, J. and Summers, L. ''Historical Dictionary of Cambodia'', Scarecrow Press, 1996]
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norodom, Norindeth
1906 births
1975 deaths
Cambodian politicians
Cambodian princes
People executed by the Khmer Rouge
Executed Cambodian people