Sihanouk, 1971-2002, undated

This subseries of correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and other material documents Melville's long professional and personal relationship with Norodom Sihanouk. Shihanouk served as the first king of decolonized Cambodia until 1955, when he abdicated to his father in order to run in the independent country's first elections. From 1955 to 1970, he served as prime minister until he was ousted in a coup lead by General Lon Nol. Sihanouk was then recruited by the Khmer Rouge as its titular head. In 1975, after living in exile for 5 years, he returned to Phnom Penh, where Pol Pot, the actual leader of the Khmer Rouge, placed him under house arrest in the Royal Palace. Following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978 and subsequent ousting of the Khmer Rouge, Sihanouk headed one of three major resistance groups to the Vietnamese-backed Phnom Penh government. When these three groups merged in 1981, Sihanouk became president of the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia. Sihanouk's coalition was recognized by much of the international community as the rightful government of Cambodia and, as such, occupied a seat at the United Nations. However, the Phnom Penh government effectively controlled the country. Sihanouk began peace talks with this government in 1987, and a formal ceasefire followed in 1991 with the Paris Peace Agreements. Sihanouk was then named chairman of the Supreme National Council which served as an interim government until official elections were held in May 1993. Sihanouk was then reinstated as King of Cambodia.

Melville, on behalf of the Asia Society, was instrumental in bringing Cambodian Prime Minister Sirik Matak to the United States in 1971. This visit was widely publicized in the Cambodian press, and brought Melville's name to the attention of Sihanouk. When Sihanouk came to the United States for the first time in February 1980 to plead for international assistance for Cambodia, he insisted on meeting Melville. There began a long relationship as friend and advisor to Sihanouk. The collection includes extensive correspondence between Melville and Sihanouk, much of which is in French. The subseries also contains many photographs, including several of Melville and his wife being received as the first foreign guests at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh upon Sihanouk's return in 1991.