A Cambodian Illustrious Figure among Those Who Initiated the Francophonie

Résumé détaillé

Earlier this year, as information was being released on Cambodia hosting the summit of the Francophonie on Nov. 15 and 16, historian ...

PHNOM PENH — Earlier this year, as information was being released on Cambodia hosting the summit of the Francophonie on Nov. 15 and 16, historian Julio Jeldres noticed that there was no mention of the late King Norodom Sihanouk having been among the small group of country leaders who had initiated this organization.

Because the idea of having the countries and states linked through their French heritage join in as part of an organization did not come from the French government in 1962 but from nations with a history that had involved France at one point. “It started in Asia with the late King Sihanouk, in Africa with President Léopold Senghor of Senegal and President Yori Hamani of Niger, and in the Arab world…with Habib Bourguiba, president of Tunisia.”

For King Sihanouk—who was using the title of prince at the time and serving as both head of state and prime minister in Cambodia—the idea of a Francophonie organization went beyond the sharing of a French language and memories, Jeldres said, as he found out when he started researching the king’s vision for this international body, which has led him to write a small book entitled “The King-Father and the Francophonie” that was just released in October 2026.

In 1969, King Sihanouk named as ambassador to Senegal Chan Duran who had been his chief of secretariat. Duran was not only sent as the first Cambodian ambassador to Senegal, Jeldres said. He was also accredited to most of the African countries with a French heritage such as Niger, Mali, Guinea, Mauritania and Congo. “The embassy in Senegal became the focus point for the whole French-speaking region in Africa,” he said.

King Sihanouk’s vision of the Francophonie, Jeldres said, “was not only to establish diplomatic relations with all those countries and to have commercial exchanges…There was also…that they could perhaps work together with France to make this an association that would contribute to other issues beyond trade, cultural exchanges, and so on.”

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