Actuels
Angkor

1863 Western countries discovered the Angkor treasures thanks to works of Henri Mouhot, a French naturalist

1918 On the French’s initiative, the National Museum of Cambodia was built to house discoveries from explorations

1923 André Malraux was arrested when he tried to steal four Devatas from the Banteay Srey temple

1992 Temples of Angkor were classed as UNESCO “World Heritage” by UNESCO

Cambodian Colonisation

1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France

1941 Norodom Sihanouk, 19 years old, became King of Cambodia

1941-1945 Japan occupied Cambodia during World War II

1946 The French came back to Cambodia

1953 Independence of Cambodia (pacifically)

The Khmer Rouge Roots

1955 King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated to become the Prime Minister. His father sworn in as a Monarch

1963 Pol Pot became the leader of the CPK (Communist Party of Kampuchea)

1965 Breaking off of relations with the USA
The North Vietnamese guerrillas set up their bases in the South-East of Cambodian territory

1969-1973 Even though Cambodia was not in war with the USA, more than 500 000 tons of bombs were dropped in the Cambodian countryside. This USA assault against Vietnamese guerrillas in Cambodia caused a lot of victims, starvation and a civil war

The Khmer Rouges in Power

1970 Prince Sihanouk, the Prime Minister, resigned, and fled to China. With the support of the Khmer Rouge (communists), he organized a resistance war

1970-1975 Civil war between the Khmer Rouge and the pro-American government in power

1975-1979 The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot (without Prince Sihanouk) took full control of the capital Phnom Penh. And they began an immediate evacuation of townspeople in the countryside for agricultural work
The country was named Democratic Kampuchea, and an extremist communist policy took place. The main goals were the collectivisation of all private properties in order to improve yield of rice and to create a classless society
Nearly 2 million people died during the Khmer Rouge regime

Vietnamese Occupation

1978-1979 The Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia and occupied Phnom Penh in 1979
A Khmer Rouge faction based in Hanoi, ended the genocide and Hun Sen became Prime Minister in 1985 (still at this function today)

1979-1982 The Khmer Rouge fled to Thailand and tried to form a resistance coalition with Sihanouk as a leader

1989 The Vietnamese troops withdraw

Independence and Stability

1991 All Cambodian parties signed a peace treaty in Paris. The agreement provided peacekeeping and organisation of national elections
But the Khmer Rouge refused to demobilize their troops

1993-1994 Sihanouk was reinstalled as King of Cambodia
Free elections were organized. Prince Ranariddh (the son of King Sihanouk) and Hun Sen became co-Prime Ministers

1997 Eviction of Prince Ranariddh
Pol Pot died

1999 All Khmer Rouge leaders fled, defected to the Royal Government, or were arrested
Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of United Nations, recommended the establishment of an international tribunal in Phnom Penh, to prosecute genocide guilty leaders

2000-2008
- Hun Sen won each election and remained Prime Minister
- In 2004, King Sihanouk abdicated and his 51 year-old son Norodom Sihamoni became the new Monarch
- Some former Khmer Rouge leaders were charged with crimes against humanity
- New National elections were organised in July 2008, the Hun Sen 's party, the CPP won. The Prime Minister Hun Sen should stay for another five-year term

Cambodia has recovered stability and economic growth despite high bribery. It is becoming a spotlight tourist destination