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Cambodia becomes a protectorate of France.
The protectorate was established in 1863 when the Cambodian King Norodom requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country, meanwhile Siam renounced suzerainty over Cambodia and officially recognized the French protectorate on Cambodia. -
Cambodia wins its independence from France.
Due to the threat of the Khmer Issarak movement, King Norodom Sihanouk negotiated with the French for full independence to neutralize the movement that was gaining in popularity. Khmer people in general did not know that they were exploited by foreign powers under the umbrella of Khmer Issarak movement. -
Lon Nol is overthrown as the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot occupy Phnom Penh.
Khmer Rouge forces led by Pol Pot defeat Lon Nol army and take Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975. Cities immediately evacuated, and the country is cut off from the outside world. Killings of surrendered Lon Nol officers, soldiers, and officials. -
The country is re-named Democratic Kampuchea.
In June 1982, the Khmer Rouge formed the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea with two non-communist guerrilla factions, which retained international recognition. The state was renamed as Cambodia in 1990 in the run-up to the UN-sponsored 1991 Paris Peace Agreements. -
A peace agreement is signed in Paris.
In early 1992, the massive United Nations Transitional Authority Cambodia mission began. As one of the UN's largest ever peace support efforts, more than 20,000 military and police personnel from over 40 countries joined this mission. These peacekeepers monitored the cease-fire and disarmed the fighting sides. -
Hun Sen mounts a coup against the prime minister
Sihanouk himself thought that Sirik Matak, who he characterized as a jealous rival claimant to the Cambodian throne) backed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and in contact with exiled Sihanouk opponent Son Ngoc Thanh, had suggested the coup plan to Lon Nol in 1969. -
First bridge across the Mekong River opens
The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, the first bridge across the lower reaches of the Mekong River, was opened; it links Nong Khai by road with Vientiane. Nong Khai is the northern terminus of a railway from Bangkok and lies on the Bangkok-Vientiane highway. -
Prime Minister Hun Sen is re-elected after CPP strikes a deal with the royalist Funcinpec party.
The CPP won general elections in 2003 but did not have a two-thirds majority, so it struck a deal with Funcinpec in 2004, ending almost a year of political deadlock. Hun Sen was re-elected prime minister by parliament in July 2004. -
Rainsy receives a royal pardon and returns home.
Cambodia's exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy has received a royal pardon and can return to the country to campaign but not contest in the general elections. -
Former Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav known as Duch goes on trial on charges of presiding over the murder and torture of thousands of people as head of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison camp.
Khieu Samphan was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He was already serving another life sentence following his conviction for crimes against humanity connected with forced transfers and disappearances of masses of people. The Khmer Rouge's real chief, Pol Pot, escaped justice. -
Cambodia and Thailand withdraw their troops from a disputed border area near the Preah Vihear temple in line with a ruling by the International Court of Justice which aims to halt outbreaks of armed conflict in recent years.
The Court found that Thailand had indeed accepted the map and concluded that the Temple was situated on Cambodian territory. It also held that Thailand was under an obligation to withdraw any military or police force stationed there and to restore to Cambodia any objects removed from the ruins since 1954. -
Former king, Norodom Sihanouk, dies of a heart attack.
Norodom Sihanouk, the flamboyant Cambodian monarch whose intermittent rule was marked by shifting alliances, decades of strife and the near-destruction of his country, died Oct. 15 in a Beijing hospital after a heart attack.