View source for Lon Nol

==In the administration of Sihanouk, 1955–70==
Nol was appointed the Army Chief of Staff in 1955, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces in 1960, as well as serving as Defence Minister. At the time, he was a trusted supporter of Sihanouk, his police being instrumental in the suppression of the small, clandestine [[communist]] movement in Cambodia. He was appointed [[Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia|deputy prime minister]] in 1963.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vaïsse |first1=Maurice |title=Documents diplomatiques français |date=2008 |publisher=PIE-P. Lang Ministère des affaires étrangères |location=Bruxelles Bern Berlin [etc.] [Paris] |isbn=978-90-5201-393-0}}</ref> While Sihanouk, in an attempt to distance his country from the effects of the [[Vietnam War]], was pursuing a foreign policy of "extreme neutrality", which involved association with China and toleration of [[North Vietnamese]] activity on the eastern borders, Nol remained friendly towards the United States, and indicated that he regretted the ending of US aid after 1963.<ref name=shawcross61>{{Harvnb|Shawcross|1979|p=61}}</ref>

The [[1966 Cambodian general election|1966 parliamentary elections]] represented a major shift in the balance of power towards Lon Nol and the rightist elements of the Sangkum, as conservative and right-wing candidates were overwhelmingly elected.<ref name=kiernan232>{{Harvnb|Kiernan|2004|p=232}}</ref> Lon Nol became prime minister, and the following year troops carried out a savage repression of a leftist-inspired revolt, the [[Samlaut Uprising]], in [[Battambang Province]].

Nol was injured in a car crash later in 1967, and temporarily retired from politics. In 1968, however, he returned as Minister of Defence and in 1969 became prime minister a second time, appointing the vocally anti-Sihanouk, and pro-US politician Prince [[Sisowath Sirik Matak]] as his deputy.