Norodom Phurissara
Encyclopedia
Prince Norodom Phurissara (October 13, 1919 - 1976 or 1977) was a prominent leftist Cambodia
n politician of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, who held a number of ministerial posts. A member of the Cambodian royal family, he disappeared during the political purges carried out by the Communist Party of Cambodia (the Khmer Rouge) after it came to power.
, and a cousin of King Norodom Sihanouk
. He studied law at the Royal University of Phnom Penh
.
In 1954, he became Secretary-General of the Democratic Party
, which until that point had been the dominant force in Cambodian internal politics. Phurissara and a group of Paris-educated radicals steered the party increasingly to the left. The American embassy reported that he considered American military assistance to the fledgling Cambodia state as "unnatural" and was increasingly accepting "basic pro-Communist ideas".
The Democrats, however, were to lose the 1955 elections to Sihanouk's Sangkum
movement; the party later dissolved itself, allegedly under pressure from the Sangkum security apparatus. Phurissara went on to join the Sangkum and serve as the Cambodian Foreign Minister during the later 1960s, in a period when Sihanouk was strengthening ties with China and other communist nations.
, in the Cambodian coup of 1970
, he set up a government-in-exile, the GRUNK
, incorporating his former communist opponents, the Khmer Rouge. Phurissara was to 'defect' to the communist 'liberated zone', and joined the GRUNK, later being appointed Minister of Justice from 1973, though he was to complain that the communists did not allow him any genuine power.
In early 1976, after the Khmer Rouge victory in the civil war, Sihanouk returned as Head of State, but was shortly to tender his resignation to the communists. They dispatched Phurissara, along with Ieng Sary
, to persuade him to change his mind, but Sihanouk refused: the Khmer Rouge cadres Khieu Samphan
and Saloth Sar, the latter now using the name Pol Pot, took over leadership as Head of State and Prime Minister.
Phurissara was to continue in his role with the GRUNK for some months, but was soon removed in a purge of former Sihanoukists and more liberal Khmer Rouge cadres. He was initially sent to the Boeng Trabek re-education camp near Phnom Penh
, but later disappeared and is assumed to have been executed. Sihanouk was later to express a fear that Phurissara, who he supposed to have been brutally tortured and killed, along with other members of his family, had been targeted specifically due to Sihanouk's refusal to continue as Head of State.
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n politician of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, who held a number of ministerial posts. A member of the Cambodian royal family, he disappeared during the political purges carried out by the Communist Party of Cambodia (the Khmer Rouge) after it came to power.
Education and early political career
Phurissara was a descendant of Norodom of CambodiaNorodom of Cambodia
Norodom I ruled as king of Cambodia from 1860 to 1904. He was the eldest son of King Ang Duong, who ruled on behalf of Siam, and half-brother of Prince Si Votha as well as the half-brother of King Sisowath. Norodom is cognate with Narottam in Sanskrit which means Best of men . Norodom was...
, and a cousin of King Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
. He studied law at the Royal University of Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
.
In 1954, he became Secretary-General of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Cambodia)
The Cambodian Democratic Party was a left-leaning, pro-independence political party formed in 1946 by Prince Sisowath Yuthevong, who had previously been a member of the French Section of the Workers' International....
, which until that point had been the dominant force in Cambodian internal politics. Phurissara and a group of Paris-educated radicals steered the party increasingly to the left. The American embassy reported that he considered American military assistance to the fledgling Cambodia state as "unnatural" and was increasingly accepting "basic pro-Communist ideas".
The Democrats, however, were to lose the 1955 elections to Sihanouk's Sangkum
Sangkum
The Sangkum Reastr Niyum , commonly known simply as the Sangkum, was a political organisation set up in 1955 by Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia...
movement; the party later dissolved itself, allegedly under pressure from the Sangkum security apparatus. Phurissara went on to join the Sangkum and serve as the Cambodian Foreign Minister during the later 1960s, in a period when Sihanouk was strengthening ties with China and other communist nations.
The GRUNK
After Sihanouk was deposed by his Prime Minister, General Lon NolLon Nol
Lon Nol was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice, as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister...
, in the Cambodian coup of 1970
Cambodian coup of 1970
The Cambodian coup of 1970 refers to the removal of the Cambodian Head of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, after a vote in the National Assembly on 18 March 1970. Emergency powers were subsequently invoked by the Prime Minister Lon Nol, who became effective head of state...
, he set up a government-in-exile, the GRUNK
GRUNK
The Royal Government of National Union of Kampuchea, usually known by the French acronym GRUNK, was a government-in-exile of Cambodia, based in Beijing, that was in existence between 1970 and 1976...
, incorporating his former communist opponents, the Khmer Rouge. Phurissara was to 'defect' to the communist 'liberated zone', and joined the GRUNK, later being appointed Minister of Justice from 1973, though he was to complain that the communists did not allow him any genuine power.
In early 1976, after the Khmer Rouge victory in the civil war, Sihanouk returned as Head of State, but was shortly to tender his resignation to the communists. They dispatched Phurissara, along with Ieng Sary
Ieng Sary
Ieng Sary was a powerful figure in the Khmer Rouge. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979 and held several senior positions in the Khmer Rouge until his defection to the government in 1996....
, to persuade him to change his mind, but Sihanouk refused: the Khmer Rouge cadres Khieu Samphan
Khieu Samphan
Khieu Samphan was the president of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as Cambodia's head of state and was one of the most powerful officials in the Khmer Rouge movement, though Pol Pot was the group's true political leader and held the most...
and Saloth Sar, the latter now using the name Pol Pot, took over leadership as Head of State and Prime Minister.
Phurissara was to continue in his role with the GRUNK for some months, but was soon removed in a purge of former Sihanoukists and more liberal Khmer Rouge cadres. He was initially sent to the Boeng Trabek re-education camp near Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, but later disappeared and is assumed to have been executed. Sihanouk was later to express a fear that Phurissara, who he supposed to have been brutally tortured and killed, along with other members of his family, had been targeted specifically due to Sihanouk's refusal to continue as Head of State.