The First cabinet of Norodom Sihanouk was the first Council of Ministers formed in the history of Cambodia. It was led by Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia at the time.
Background
After Japan overthrew the French rule in Indochina, King Norodom Sihanouk proclaimed an independent Cambodian state and sworn in the ministers. Until Sơn Ngọc Thành joined the cabinet, all ministers were, according to Sihanouk, "best-known for their pro-French zeal".
Cabinet
Dissolution
On 9 August 1945, a group of seven young officials, "dissatisfied with a government filled with old traditionalists", stormed Sihanouk's palace and arrested the whole cabinet except Sơn Ngọc Thành. While they failed to have Sihanouk abdicated, the King was forced to appoint Thành as Prime Minister to form a cabinet of nationalists. However, Thành immediately released the ministers and began to arrest the coup-makers. Thành's cabinet was sworn in on 14 August.
References