Norodom Ranariddh

Ranariddh married Eng Marie in 1968. The couple had three children together: Chakravuth, Sihariddh, and Rattana Devi.

Ranariddh and Eng Marie divorced in 2010 when it was revealed that Ranariddh was having a long time affair with Ouk Phalla and had two children with her, namely, Sothearidh and Ranavong. In the same year, Ranariddh married Ouk Phalla.

Norodom Ranariddh was born on January 2, 1944 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He is the son of former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk.

He received his early education from Norodom school and from Lycee Descartes in Phnom Penh. In 1958, he left for boarding school in Marseille, along with his half-brother Norodom Chakrapong.

In 1961, he completed his high school education and enrolled into the undergraduate programme of law at the University of Paris. He could not cope with the lifestyle of Paris and returned to Marseille in 1962.

He took admission in law faculty at the University of Provence and completed his Bachelors and Master’s in Law in 1968 and 1969 respectively.

He completed his PhD from the University of Provence in 1974.

In 1969, Norodom Ranariddh got a job in the interior ministry. He was fired from this job in 1970 when General Lon Nol staged a coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Ranariddh had to flee to escape political persecution.

In 1976, two years after receiving his PhD, he got a job as a research fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CRNS). He left this job in 1979 to pursue teaching.

He returned to his alma mater, the University of Provence, shortly after leaving CRNS. Here, he taught courses in political sociology and constitutional law, and was an associate professor when he left it in 1983.

Ranariddh entered politics in 1983 when he joined Cambodia's FUNCINPEC party, which loosely translates to "National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia".

In 1985 he was made inspector-general of the party's army, known as the ANS. The following year he was promoted to commander in chief of the ANS.

In 1994,Norodom Ranariddh formed the Cambodian Development Council. In a span of six months he approved 17 development projects related to infrastructure development. His aggressive economic policies helped develop the country through foreign investment.

Ranariddh faced years of political turmoil in the early 2000s. He formed the Norodom Ranariddh Party in 2006 and the Community of Royalist People's Party in 2014. These were significant because they represented his dedication to democratically defeat the incumbent regime.