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1954. But there was internal armed conflict within Cambodia, and the war in Vietnam also overflowed into Cambodia in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

1970-1975 The Khmer Republic

While the King was absent, General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak deposed him, and declared a republic. Nevertheless, the new Republic failed to gain effective military control of the whole land, despite continuous fighting with internal and external opponents, among them the Khmer Rouge,

1975-1979 Democratic Kampuchea (DK)

In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge took power, after the defeat of Lon Nol's Khmer Republic forces, and entered Phnom Penh. Under the leadership of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge remained in power for nearly four years, pursuing policies which resulted in the death of nearly two million people through execution, starvation, and disease.

1979-1989 People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK)

In 1978, the Vietnamese army advanced into Cambodia, and together with Khmer Rouge defectors, overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime. The new government, the People's Republic of Kampuchea, did not enjoy wide international recognition, and at the same time continued armed conflict with the Khmer Rouge and other forces within the country.

1989-1993 The State of Cambodia

[1992-1993 United Nations Transitional Authority (UNTAC)]

With the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces, the name of the country was changed to distance the new government from the Khmer Rouge period, and the use of “Kampuchea". But armed conflict between the government in Phnom Penh and other actors continued. United Nations- sponsored negotiations finally let to the Paris Peace Agreement of 1991, the United Nations Transitional Authority, and the 1993 elections.