Penn Nouth

{{Short description|7th Prime Minister of Cambodia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{family name hatnote|Penn|Nouth|lang=Cambodian}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Samdech

| name = Penn Nouth

| native_name = {{lang|km|ប៉ែន នុត}}

| honorific-suffix =

| image = Samdech Penn Nouth (1947).jpg

| imagesize =

| smallimage =

| caption = Nouth in 1947

| office = Prime Minister of Cambodia

| president = Norodom Sihanouk

| term_start = 17 April 1975

| term_end = 4 April 1976

| predecessor = Long Boret

| successor = Khieu Samphan (acting)

| term_start2 = 31 January 1968

| term_end2 = 14 August 1969

| president2 = Norodom Sihanouk

| predecessor2 = Son Sann

| successor2 = Lon Nol

| term_start3 = 28 January 1961

| term_end3 = 17 November 1961

| monarch3 = Sisowath Kossamak

| predecessor3 = Pho Proeung

| successor3 = Norodom Sihanouk

| president3 = Norodom Sihanouk

| term_start4 = 17 January 1958

| term_end4 = 24 April 1958

| monarch4 = Norodom Suramarit

| predecessor4 = Ek Yi Oun

| successor4 = Sim Var

| term_start5 = 18 April 1954

| term_end5 = 26 January 1955

| monarch5 = Norodom Sihanouk

| predecessor5 = Norodom Sihanouk

| successor5 = Leng Ngeth

| term_start6 = 24 January 1953

| term_end6 = 22 November 1953

| monarch6 = Norodom Sihanouk

| predecessor6 = Norodom Sihanouk

| successor6 = Chan Nak

| term_start7 = 15 August 1948

| term_end7 = 21 January 1949

| monarch7 = Norodom Sihanouk

| predecessor7 = Chhean Vam

| successor7 = Yem Sambaur

| office8 = Minister of Foreign Affairs

| primeminister8 = Ek Yi Oun
Sim Var

| term_start8 = 11 January 1958

| term_end8 = 10 July 1958

| predecessor8 = Sim Var

| successor8 = Truong Cang

| birth_date = {{birth date|1906|4|15|df=y}}

| birth_place = Phnom Penh, Cambodia, French Indochina

| death_date = {{death date and age|1985|5|18|1906|4|15|df=y}}

| death_place = Châtenay-Malabry, France

| party = {{ubl|National United Front of Kampuchea
{{small|(1970–1976)}}|Sangkum
{{small|(1955–1970)}}|Democratic
{{small|(1946–1955)}}}}

| spouse =

| children =

| monarch2 = Sisowath Kossamak

}}

Penn Nouth ({{langx|km|ប៉ែន នុត}}; 15 April 1906 – 18 May 1985) was a Cambodian politician. He served in the French colonial administration, then took active part in Cambodian politics, was several times Prime Minister of Cambodia (1953, 1954–1955, 1958, 1961) as part of the Sangkum regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. He was the first prime minister of an independent Cambodia. He was prime minister for the sixth time from 31 January 1968 to 14 August 1969. On 18 March 1970, when Norodom Sihanouk was deposed by Penn Nouth's successor Lon Nol, Penn Nouth joined the monarch in his exile and became prime minister in the GRUNK coalition. His combined tenure as Prime Minister (5 years, 222 days), spanning seven non-consecutive terms, is the second-longest in Cambodian history after Hun Sen.

On April 17, 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took power, he held the post of Prime Minister for the last time, until April 4, 1976, but without holding any power, Democratic Kampuchea being entirely controlled by Pol Pot's supporters. He was subsequently placed under house arrest, like Norodom Sihanouk, until January 6, 1979, when, following the Vietnamese invasion, he returned to the People's Republic of China.

He emigrated to France, to Châtenay-Malabry where he obtained refugee status on March 6, 1981 and where he died on May 18, 1985, in his 80th year.