Norodom Sihanouk (1922–2012)
Born 1922 CE, died 2012 CE.
Norodom Sihanouk (; 31 October 1922 – 15 October 2012) was King, Chief of State and Prime Minister of Cambodia. He is known as Samdech Euv (meaning "King Father") or by his nickname The Pink Prince. During his lifetime, Cambodia was under various regimes, from French colonial rule (until 1953), 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 (since 1993). Sihanouk was the only child of Prince Norodom Suramarit and Princess Sisowath Kossamak, daughter of King Sisowath Monivong. When his grandfather Monivong died in 1941, Sihanouk became king amidst French colonial rule. After the Japanese occupation of Cambodia during World War II, he secured Cambodian independence from France in 1953. He abdicated in 1955 and was succeeded by his father, Suramarit, so as to directly participate in politics. Sihanouk's political organization Sangkum won the general elections that year, and he became prime minister of Cambodia.
Text from the Wikipedia article Norodom_Sihanouk, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.