Norodom Sihamoni

Norodom Sihamoni was born to Norodom Sihanouk, former King of Cambodia and Queen Consort Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, on May 14, 1953.

Sihamoni had a younger brother Samdech Norodom Narindrapong, who died at the age of forty-nine. The former has fourteen other half-siblings.

At the age of nine, in 1962, the young boy travelled to Prague, Czechoslovakia, where he pursued his education. It was in the same place that he received training in classical cultural arts from the 'Academy of Music Arts'. Sihamoni knows foreign languages such as French, Czech, English as well as Russian.

When Cambodian military official Lon Nol led a coup in 1970, against King Sihanouk, the prince was in Czechoslovakia.

In 1975, the young prince started pursuing a course in film direction from an institute in North Korea. Two years later, he came back to his homeland, where the face of politics was marked by agitation. He was put under house detention along with other family members, by the communist ruler of the Khmer Rouge regime, Pol Pot.

After Cambodian ruler Pol Pot was dethroned, the royal family of Norodom Sihanouk moved to China, and the young prince worked as his father’s secretary for two years.

In 1981, the prince travelled to France, with the goal of teaching ballet, and the 'Khmer Dance Association' later appointed him as President. During his stay in Paris, he brought together a dance troupe called ‘Ballet Deva’. He directed two films dealing with dance, and also choreographed some of the dances performed by his group.

The Prince of Cambodia was appointed to represent the country at the 'United Nations', in 1992. The next year, he was selected to be the spokesperson for his homeland at 'UNESCO'.

In 2004, he was appointed as a representative of the ‘High Council of Francophone Countries’, which consists of more than 57 French-speaking nations.

The same year, King Sihanouk decided to step down, and hand over the reins to his son Sihamoni. This came as a surprise, considering the fact that there were other, more suitable contenders to the throne.

This famous Cambodian King is known for his efforts to bring about cultural development in his nation. He is most famous for representing his country’s culture on a global platform.