Penn Nouth

Penn Nouth (Khmer: ប៉ែន នុត; April 15, 1906 – May 18, 1985) was a Cambodian politician. He served in the French colonial administration, then took active part in Cambodian politics, was several times Prime Minister of Cambodia (1953, 1954–1955, 1958, 1961) as part of the Sangkum regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. He was the first prime minister of an independent Cambodia. He was prime minister for the sixth time from 31 January 1968 to August 14th 1969. On March 18th 1970, when Norodom Sihanouk was deposed by Penn Nouth's successor Lon Nol, Penn Nouth joined the monarch in his exile and became prime minister in the GRUNK coalition. His combined tenure as prime minister (5 years, 222 days), spanning seven non-consecutive terms, is the second-longest in Cambodian history after Hun Sen.

PresidentNorodom Sihanouk

Preceded byLong Boret

Succeeded byKhieu Samphan (acting)

MonarchSisowath Kossamak

Quick facts Samdech, Prime Minister of Cambodia ...

Samdech Penn Nouth
ប៉ែន នុត
Nouth in 1947
Prime Minister of Cambodia
In office 17 April 1975 – 4 April 1976
President	Norodom Sihanouk
Preceded by	Long Boret
Succeeded by	Khieu Samphan (acting)
In office 31 January 1968 – 14 August 1969
Monarch	Sisowath Kossamak
President	Norodom Sihanouk
Preceded by	Son Sann
Succeeded by	Lon Nol
In office 28 January 1961 – 17 November 1961
Monarch	Sisowath Kossamak
President	Norodom Sihanouk
Preceded by	Pho Proeung
Succeeded by	Norodom Sihanouk
In office 17 January 1958 – 24 April 1958
Monarch	Norodom Suramarit
Preceded by	Ek Yi Oun
Succeeded by	Sim Var
In office 18 April 1954 – 26 January 1955
Monarch	Norodom Sihanouk
Preceded by	Norodom Sihanouk
Succeeded by	Leng Ngeth
In office 24 January 1953 – 22 November 1953
Monarch	Norodom Sihanouk
Preceded by	Norodom Sihanouk
Succeeded by	Chan Nak
In office 15 August 1948 – 21 January 1949
Monarch	Norodom Sihanouk
Preceded by	Chhean Vam
Succeeded by	Yem Sambaur
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 11 January 1958 – 10 July 1958
Prime Minister	Ek Yi Oun Sim Var
Preceded by	Sim Var
Succeeded by	Truong Cang
Personal details
Born	(1906-04-15)15 April 1906 Phnom Penh, Cambodia, French Indochina
Died	18 May 1985(1985-05-18) (aged 79) Châtenay-Malabry, France
Party	National United Front of Kampuchea (1970–1976) Sangkum (1955–1970) Democratic (1946–1955)

Close

On April 17, 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took power, he held the post of prime minister for the last time, until April 4, 1976, but without holding any power, Democratic Kampuchea being entirely controlled by Pol Pot's supporters. He was subsequently placed under house arrest, like Norodom Sihanouk, until January 6, 1979, when, following the Vietnamese invasion, he returned to the People's Republic of China.

He emigrated to France, to Châtenay-Malabry, where he obtained refugee status on March 6, 1981, and where he died on May 18, 1985, at age 79.