Heng, Cheng

Cheng Heng was born in 1910 (according to other sources - in 1916 ) in Takeo Province in a family of middle peasants. It was of mixed Khmer-Chinese origin ^[1] . He studied at the prestigious Lyceum of Sisovat, graduated from the Royal School of Management. He became a successful landowner and entrepreneur. He served in the colonial government of Cambodia , in the mid-1950s. rose to the rank of Oudom-Montrey (senior class of mandarin ) ^[2] .

Little is known about his career during the reign of Norodom Sihanouk . Cheng Heng entered politics in 1958 , served as Secretary of State for Agriculture (1960-1962). As a member of Sangkum in 1962, he was elected to the parliament from Takmau . However, already in the next election, four years later, he lost to another candidate, who turned out to be a supporter of Sihanouk and a young doctor - Keo Sann ^[3] . In 1969-1970 Cheng Heng was chairman of the National Assembly , the Parliament of Cambodia.

After the coup

On April 18, 1970, a coup d'etat took place in Cambodia, as a result of which Prince Sihanouk was removed from power. Cheng Heng was appointed acting head of state, and after the abolition of the monarchy on October 9 and the proclamation of the Khmer Republic, he became its first president. Being the nominal head of state, he made official statements, met with journalists, held international meetings and conferences ^[4] . In many ways, this was a formal position - real power was concentrated in the hands of the country's prime minister , General Lon Nol . While in exile, Sihanouk described Cheng Heng as a “miserable puppet” of the new regime ^[5] .

However, from the very beginning of its existence, the new regime was in unfavorable conditions . Taking advantage of the deteriorating political situation, Lon Nol removed Cheng Heng and in early 1972 became the new head of state ^{[comm. 1]} . The establishment of Lon Nol’s sole rule caused sharp criticism from the international community. In an effort to expand the social base of his regime, Lon Nol appointed Cheng Heng as chairman of the Supreme Political Council. It was a coalition body of the right opposition, created in 1973 under US pressure ^[6] .

In fact, this body created only the appearance of democratization of the new regime and did not play any serious role in the political life of the country. Against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation, Lon Nol renewed his dictatorial ambitions and the "High Political Council" lost all influence ^[7] . This completely stopped all democratic processes in the country, and the Lon Nol regime was heading towards its inevitable collapse. By early 1975, the capital of the country - Phnom Penh - was in complete siege of the Khmer Rouge .

Cheng Heng was included in the list of the so-called "seven traitors" - a list of coupists published by Sihanouk who would be immediately executed if they seized power. In addition to this list included: Lon Nol, Sisovat Sirik Matak , In Tam , Long Boret , Sostene Fernandez and Son Ngok Thanh ^[8] . On April 1, 1975, Cheng Heng left Cambodia and went to Paris , where he joined a group of Cambodian anti-communist dissidents led by former Prime Minister of Cambodia, Son Sann .

In exile

During the 1970-1980s. He was in the anti-communist opposition, first to the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot ( Democratic Kampuchea ), then to the Vietnamese regime of Heng Samrina (NRC). Only after the signing of the Paris Agreements in 1991 , which ended the Cambodian-Vietnamese conflict , was Cheng Heng able to return to Cambodia. At home, he tried to participate in political life, founded the Republican Coalition Party , which participated in the 1993 elections , but never received a single seat in the country's parliament ^[9] .

The exact date of death of Cheng Heng is unknown. Various sources indicate the period from 1994 to 1999, according to other sources, he died on March 15, 1996 , the details of his death were not reported ^[2] .

Cheng Heng was married to the daughter of Ung Hy, one of Penn Noot 's colleagues. ^[2] In this marriage he had seven children ^[2] .

Comments

Sources

• Corfield J. Khmers Stand Up !: A History of the Cambodian Government 1970-1975. - Monash Asia Institute, 1994 .-- 253 p. - (Monash Papers on Southeast Asia). - ISBN 978-0732605650 . (eng.)
• Corfield J. The History of Cambodia. - ABC-CLIO. - 2009. - ISBN 0-313-35723-4 . (eng.)
• Nohlen D., Grotz F. & Hartmann C. Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II. - Oxford University Press . - 2001. - ISBN 0-19-924959-8 . (eng.)
• 梁 明. 高棉 華僑 概況 - 海外 華人 青少年 叢書. - 华侨 协会 总会 主编 - 正中 书局 印行, 1988. (Chinese)
• Shawcross W. Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon, and the Destruction of Cambodia. - Simon & Schuster, 1979. (English)
• Maguire PH Facing death in Cambodia. - Columbia University Press, 2005 .-- 261 p. - ISBN 0-231-12052-4 . (eng.)
• Sihanouk N. My War with the CIA. - Random House, 1973. (English)
• Kenton J. Clymer. The United States and Cambodia, 1969-2000: A Troubled Relationship. - London: Psychology Press, 2004 .-- 225 p. - ISBN 0-415-32602-8 . (eng.)

• Biography of Cheng Heng (fr.) . AFEAK. Archived March 4, 2016.
• La guerre du Vietnam comme toutes les guerres d'ailleurs donne lieu à des horreurs insupportables (Fr.) . Archived on August 13, 2004.
• Mandat - Chef d'État - Cambodge (Fr.) . Perspective monde. Archived on March 14, 2016.