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  Norodom Sihamoni,
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationNonpartisan  
<-  2024-01-01  
 
Name Norodom Sihamoni
AddressKhemarin Palace
Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh , Cambodia
EmailNone
Website [Link]
Born May 14, 1953 (70 years)
Contributor411 Name Removed
Last ModifedNCdem
Mar 18, 2024 04:04pm
Tags Asian - Single - Buddhist - Disputed -
InfoBefore King Sihanouk announced his abdication from the Cambodian throne in early October, few people had heard of his son Norodom Sihamoni.

But within days of the announcement, the 51-year-old ex-ballet dancer was thrust into the limelight as the most likely candidate to become the impoverished nation's next king.

The modest, music-loving bachelor is said to be reluctant to take the throne, but has indicated his willingness to do so if asked by Cambodia's official Throne Council.

Although he has represented his country as ambassador to the United Nations cultural organisation, Unesco, he has played no part in Cambodia's often chaotic politics.

His distance from political wrangling has led him to be seen by both King Sihanouk and Prime Minister Hun Sen as the most suitable candidate to succeed to the throne, a position which in recent years has become largely symbolic.

Like it or not, Sihamoni could soon find himself being revered, like his father before him, as king and demi-god by an adoring Cambodian public.


Professional dancer

Sihamoni was born in 1953, the year Cambodia finally achieved independence from France.

The eldest son of King Sihanouk and his sixth wife Monique, his name is derived from the first syllables of his parents' names.

As a young man, Sihamoni left Cambodia to study in Czechoslovakia - first at Prague High School and then specialising in music and dance at the National Conservatory.

In 1975 he went to North Korea to study cinematography - an interest he shares with his father.

But he returned to Cambodia soon after the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge took over the country.

Some analysts allege Sihamoni was duped into leaving North Korea when he received a letter falsely bearing his father's signature.

During the Khmer Rouge's four-year genocidal regime, which resulted in the deaths of more than a million people, Sihamoni - along with most of his family - was kept under house arrest in the palace in Phnom Penh.

Even Cambodia's royal household was not spared tragedy at the hands of Pol Pot's brutal henchmen. Five of King Sihanouk's 14 children died in the genocide.

Shortly after the Khmer Rouge fell to Vietnamese forces in 1979, Sihamoni left Cambodia for France, where he pursued his love of classical dance at some of the leading conservatories in Paris.

In 1992 he was given the position of Cambodia's ambassador to Unesco, a post he held until earlier this year, when he moved to Beijing to look after his ailing father.

Succession decision

The first indication that Sihamoni might succeed Sihanouk to the throne came at an Independence Day ceremony in 2002, when he deputised for the king.

His presence came as a surprise to government officials and diplomats at the event, who saw it as a sign that Sihanouk was introducing his prefered candidate.

Sihamoni is seen as being relatively pliant, which will suit Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has dominated Cambodian politics for the past two decades.

Hun Sen has no wish to continue the frosty relationship he has with King Sihanouk, whom he is said to dislike for his interference in political affairs.

But if politicians think that Sihamoni will merely be a puppet king, they could well be in for a shock.

"He's very much an unknown quantity, but he's certainly no fool," said one Western diplomat who met Prince Sihamoni when he was Cambodia's ambassador to Unesco.

"There might be some surprises if people think of him as a soft touch," the diplomat told Reuters.

If, as expected, Sihamoni becomes the next king of Cambodia, only time will tell whether he will agree to the figurehead role laid out for him, or whether he will wish to play a more pivotal role in shaping his country's future.

Photo Credit: Reuters
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FAMILY
Father Norodom Sihanouk 1922-2012
Grandfather Norodom Suramarit 1896-1960
Brother Norodom Ranariddh 1944-2021

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  10/14/2004 Cambodia King Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
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