United Nations Administered Cambodia

Cambodia កម្ពុជា (Khmer)
1992–1993
Flag Emblem
Anthem: Song of the Paris Peace Agreement
Location of Cambodia in Southeast Asia.
Status	Independent state under United Nations administration
Capital and largest city	Phnom Penh
Common languages	Khmer
Special Representative of the Secretary General
• 1992–1993	Yasushi Akashi
Chairman of the Supreme National Council
• 1992–1993	Norodom Sihanouk
Prime Minister
• 1992–1993	Hun Sen
• 1993	Norodom Ranariddh
Historical era	Aftermaths of Third Indochina War and first phase of Cambodian conflict
• Paris Peace Accords	23 October 1991
• UN Security Council Resolution 745	28 February 1992
• Elections	23 May 1993
• Monarchy restored	24 September 1993
Currency	Riel (៛) (KHR)
Time zone	UTC+07:00 (ICT)
Calling code	+855
Preceded by Succeeded by State of Cambodia National Government of Cambodia Second Kingdom of Cambodia

Part of a series on the
History of Cambodia
Early history
Funan Chenla Khmer Empire Angkor Khmer–Cham wars Đại Việt–Khmer War
Post-Angkor period
Chaktomuk era Longvek era Siamese-Cambodian War Cambodian–Spanish War Cambodian–Dutch War Siamese annexation Oudong era Loss of Mekong Delta Dai Viet invasion
Colonial period
French protectorate French Indochina Japanese occupation (Cambodia in 1945)
Independence and conflict
Post-independence US bombing Sihanouk Trail Cambodian campaign 1970 coup Khmer Republic US bombing Cambodian Civil War Fall of Phnom Penh Democratic Kampuchea Mayaguez incident Cambodian genocide Cambodian–Vietnamese War People's Republic of Kampuchea exiled coalition government K5 Plan
Peace process
Cambodian Conflict (1979–1998) 1991 Paris Peace Agreements (UNTAC) (1992-1993) 1993 election Khmer Rouge PGNUNSC
Modern Cambodia
Economy 1997 coup Khmer Rouge Tribunal 2003 Phnom Penh riots 2008–2013 Cambodian–Thai border crisis 2013–2014 protests COVID-19 pandemic 2025 Cambodia–Thailand border conflict
By topic
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Timeline
Cambodia portal

Between 28 February 1992 and 24 September 1993 Cambodia was administered by the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) under the terms of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements which ended the Cambodian–Vietnamese War.

This was the first occasion in which the UN directly assumed responsibility for the administration of an independent member state (though the UN did administer the territory of West New Guinea between 1962 and 1963), rather than simply monitoring or supervising the area.

The Kingdom of Cambodia became independent from France on 9 November 1953. The monarchy was overthrown in a coup d'état on 18 March 1970 leading to the formation of the Khmer Republic. The Khmer Rouge came to power on 17 April 1975 resulting in the country becoming known as Democratic Kampuchea. Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge's regime killed millions of its own people through mass executions, forced labour, and starvation, is what came to be known as the Cambodian genocide. The Khmer Rouge were overthrown on 7 January 1979 following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. A rival government, the People's Republic of Kampuchea, was subsequently proclaimed by Vietnamese occupation forces, however the previous regime, which would become the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea in 1982, continued to be recognised by the United Nations as the legitimate government of Cambodia. The Paris Peace Accords were signed in October 1991 to end the ongoing conflicts in Cambodia. The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was established following the adoption of Resolution 745 by the Security Council on 28 February 1992.^[1]

The Paris Peace Agreement specified the system of administration in Cambodia during the transitional period.

The Supreme National Council (SNC) as the sovereign body of Cambodia, represented the country externally and occupied its seat at the United Nations. Norodom Sihanouk was the chairman of the SNC. The SNC allowed its authority over all administrative agencies, bodies and offices acting in foreign affairs, national defence, finance, public security and information to be exercised by UNTAC on its behalf.^[2][3]

A Constituent Assembly was elected in May 1992. Prince Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC Party was the top vote recipient with a 45.5% vote, followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, respectively. FUNCINPEC then entered into a coalition with the other parties that had participated in the election.^[4] The parties proceeded to draft and approve a new constitution, which came into effect on 24 September 1993. It established a multiparty democracy in the framework of a constitutional monarchy, with Prince Sihanouk elevated to King. Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen became First and Second Prime Ministers, respectively in the new Cambodian government.^[4] Son Sann was the speaker of the assembly.

Membership by party

Yasushi Akashi of Japan served as the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Cambodia

Portrait	Name	Term of office
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
	Yasushi Akashi	28 February 1992	24 September 1993	1 year, 208 days

Prince Norodom Sihanouk became Chairman of the Supreme National Council on 20 November 1991, retaining the position after the establishment of UNTAC in February 1992, and was appointed Chief of State by the Constituent Assembly on 14 June 1993. He would become King of Cambodia on 24 September 1993.

Portrait	Name	Term of office
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
	Prince Norodom Sihanouk	28 February 1992	24 September 1993	1 year, 208 days

Hun Sen who had been prime minister of the People's Republic of Kampuchea since 1984 remained prime minister of Cambodia after the formation of UNTAC and was appointed as one of two co-prime ministers, together with Prince Norodom Ranariddh, by the Constituent Assembly on 2 July 1993.

Portrait	Name	Term of office
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
	Hun Sen	28 February 1992	24 September 1993	1 year, 208 days
	Prince Norodom Ranariddh	2 July 1993	24 September 1993	84 days

• List of territories administered by the United Nations
• United Nations Administered West New Guinea
• United Nations Administered Kosovo
• United Nations Administered East Timor

• Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) official website
• Records of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) (1992-1993) Archived 2021-11-04 at the Wayback Machine at the United Nations Archives
• Untac.com