Lon Nol Biography

Birth of Lon Nol in Prey Veng Province

Begins work as a magistrate in the French colonial administration

Serves as provincial governor as Japanese power collapses in Indochina

Continues administrative and security work during the restored French protectorate

Works in Phnom Penh as director of administrative service

Becomes Chief of Police during the late protectorate period

Moves into the army with command of an infantry battalion

Commands Cambodian troops during the closing phase of the First Indochina War

Continues building influence inside the Cambodian armed forces after independence

Appointed Army Chief of Staff in Phnom Penh

Begins a long term as Minister of National Defence

Becomes commander in chief of Cambodia's armed forces

Directs security policy against clandestine communist networks

Military intelligence under Lon Nol is linked to suppression of early CPK leadership

Becomes a senior right-wing figure inside Sihanouk's government

Oversees military security while Cambodia tries to maintain neutrality

Continues efforts to strengthen Cambodian forces before the civil war

Forms a conservative government under the Sangkum political system

Appointed Prime Minister of Cambodia for his first term

Resigns after injury and political pressure from his first premiership

Government forces suppress unrest linked to the Samlaut revolt

Returns as Minister of National Defence before the 1970 crisis

Recalled by Sihanouk as Cambodia faces economic and political crisis

Appointed Prime Minister of Cambodia for his 2nd term

Challenges North Vietnamese and Viet Cong use of Cambodian territory

Orders airports and borders closed against Vietnamese communist movement

Anti-Vietnamese demonstrations increase pressure on Sihanouk's neutral policy

Demands Vietnamese communist forces leave Cambodian territory

Neutralist rule is replaced by an anti-communist government aligned with the United States

Leads the government as the National Assembly removes Sihanouk while abroad

Cheng Heng becomes provisional head of state while Lon Nol keeps executive control

Lon Nol leads the political takeover that removes Sihanouk during his absence abroad

Lon Nol receives emergency powers after Sihanouk is removed

National Assembly votes unanimously to withdraw confidence from Sihanouk

Acts while Sihanouk is outside Cambodia during the decisive National Assembly session

Premier Lon Nol supports the National Assembly vote removing Sihanouk

Emergency powers are invoked as Lon Nol becomes effective head of government

Expands the Khmer National Armed Forces after the coup

Closes Sihanoukville to North Vietnamese military supply routes and requests modern weapons

Seeks closer military and diplomatic support from the United States

Requests American support against Vietnamese communist forces in Cambodia

United States and South Vietnamese forces enter Cambodia against communist base areas

Receives expanded American military support for the new anti-communist regime

Mobilizes forces as civil war spreads through the countryside

Proclaims the Khmer Republic and abolishes the monarchy

Leaves the prime ministership as Sirik Matak takes over government leadership

Khmer Parliament confers the rank of Marshal on Lon Nol

Ends his 2nd term as Minister of National Defence

Uses Son Ngoc Thanh as Prime Minister under the presidential system

Cheng Heng resigns and transfers chief-of-state powers to Lon Nol

Lon Nol becomes President of the Khmer Republic

New republican constitution approved by referendum

Creates the Social Republican Party with support from Lon Non

Elected first President of the Khmer Republic after adoption of the constitution

Social Republican Party dominates National Assembly elections

Paris agreement seeks to end foreign military interference in Indochina

Proclaims a unilateral ceasefire after the Paris Peace Accords

Introduces conscription as the army suffers casualties and desertions

Khmer Rouge offensive pushes toward the suburbs of Phnom Penh

American air operations intensify before the bombing halt

United States bombing operations in Cambodia end

Rotates prime ministers as the republic faces military and economic decline

Becomes increasingly isolated from Sirik Matak, Cheng Heng, and In Tam

Khmer Rouge forces surround Phnom Penh as the republic nears collapse

Resigns and leaves Cambodia before the Khmer Rouge capture Phnom Penh

Saukham Khoy becomes acting president after Lon Nol leaves Cambodia

Insists from exile that he remains president despite the republic's defeat

Death of Lon Nol in exile in California