程恒

Cheng Heng was one of the formal state figures who gave constitutional shape to the Khmer Republic after Prince Sihanouk's ouster in 1970. He is historically important not simply because he served as head of state, but because his career helps explain how regime change during crisis is often mediated through officeholders who appear moderate or transitional while deeper military and ideological struggles intensify around them. His significance lies in his place within the Lon Nol-era order, the symbolic role he played in giving institutional form to the new regime, and the broader connection between Cambodia's republican experiment and the civil war that followed. He shows how constitutional titles can mask the fragility of states entering revolutionary conflict.