The Great Cambodia Timeline By culvermls Nov 9, 1953 Cambodia wins their independence from France Apr 3, 1960 Sihanouk's father died and Sihanouk became head of state (king) Nov 27, 1963 Cambodia severed ties with South Vietnam Mar 2, 1965 Rolling Thunder Bombing (Vietnam War) Began Apr 17, 1967 The Civil war in Cambodia began Nov 1, 1968 Rolling Thunder Bombing Ends Mar 5, 1970 Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk and sent Khmer Republic army to fight the North Vietnamese Apr 17, 1975 Civil war in Cambodia ends Jan 5, 1976 Pol Pot renames country Kampuchea Dec 25, 1978 Vietnam Invades Cambodia Jan 7, 1979 Phnom Penh falls to the Vietnamese Jan 14, 1985 Hun Sen becomes prime minister of Cambodia's government Nov 17, 1985 Lon Nol dies of congestive heart failure Sep 27, 1988 Vietnam withdraws from Cambodia Oct 23, 1991 Peace Treaty signed to resolve conflict May 23, 1993 The first democratic election is held Sep 24, 1993 Prince Norodom Ranariddh becomes first prime minister and Hun Sen is named second prime minister Jul 7, 1994 Khmer Rouge was outlawed Apr 15, 1998 Pol Pot dies while under house arrest from Khmer Rouge rebels who had turned against him Jun 6, 2003 United Nations and Cambodia agree to an international tribunal for previous Khmer Rouge leaders