Sisowath Sirik Matak
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Sisowath Sirik Matak was a Cambodian politician and member of the Cambodian royal family, under the House of Sisowath.
Sirik Matak in 1971
Matak with US President Richard Nixon in 1971
1970 Cambodian coup d'état
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The 1970 Cambodian coup d'état was the removal of the Cambodian Chief 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, and led ultimately to the removal of Queen Sisowath Kossamak and the proclamation of the Khmer Republic later that year. It is generally seen as a turning point in the Cambodian Civil War. No longer a monarchy, Cambodia was semi-officially called "État du Cambodge" in the intervening six months after the coup, until the republic was proclaimed.
Washington 1959: Prince Sihanouk and President Eisenhower
Beijing 1965: (from left) Mao Zedong, Peng Zhen, Norodom Sihanouk and Liu Shaoqi
Lon Nol, early 1970s
Affirming Cambodia's realignment following the coup, US vice president Spiro Agnew (second right) visited Phnom Penh on 28 August 1970 (also present, Prime Minister Lon Nol, second left, and President Cheng Heng, far right). In tandem with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, Agnew had urged President Nixon to invade Cambodia a month after the coup in a meeting on 22 April.