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1970: The Khmer Republic
The nation of Cambodia was renamed the Khmer Republic from 1970 to 1975. Its president, Lon Nol, had served as an official in the French administration of Indochina. After World War II he opposed the Communist guerrillas who were fighting the French.
In 1966-67 Lon Nol served as premier under Prince Norodom Sihanouk in Cambodia. After Sihanouk was deposed, Lon Nol remained in office. Abandoning the policy of neutrality in the Vietnam War, he aligned himself with the United States and South Vietnam. By allowing their forces to operate in Cambodia, he helped widen the war into his own country. He installed himself as president of the republic on March 14, 1972.
When the Communists of North Vietnam began winning the war, Lon Nol's days in office were numbered.Cambodian Communists, the Khmer Rouge, gradually took over all of Cambodia. Lon Nol left his Khmer Republic quickly on April 1, 1975, as Communist rebels were approaching the capital. When they took over, they changed the country's name to Democratic Kampuchea. After the country was invaded by the Vietnamese in 1978, it was renamed the People's Democratic Republic of Kampuchea.
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