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Born November 13,
1913 Veng Province, Cambodia
November 17, 1985
Fullerton, California

President of Cambodia, 1970–1975

Lon Nol was the president of Cambodia—the country along Vietnam's southwestern border—during the Vietnam War. Cambodia was increasingly drawn into the conflict between Communist North Vietnam and U.S.-supported South Vietnam during his rule. In fact, the United States launched a military invasion of Cambodia just one month after he took control of the government from Prince Norodom Sihanouk (see entry). Lon Nol struggled to maintain his hold on power over the next few years as a group of Cambodian Communist rebels, known as the Khmer Rouge, gained strength and took over large areas of the country. He finally fled from his homeland in April 1975, when the Khmer Rouge captured the capital city of Phnom Penh.