Norodom Sihanouk

This King was known to have had several wives, but he had legally married Princess Samdech Norleak and Paule Monique Izzi, both in 1955. His son Sihamoni, by Monique Izzi, is currently the King of Cambodia.

The famous ruler was a passionate filmmaker, having made movies like 'See Angkor and Die', 'The Last Days of Colonel Savath', and famous documentaries like 'Cortège Royal'.

Since 2005, he had been sick with B-Cell Lymphoma in his stomach, and also suffered from hypertension as well as diabetes.

Norodom Sihanouk was born to King Norodom Suramarit and his wife, Queen Sisowath Kossamak in Cambodia on October 31, 1922.

The young boy was educated at a school in the city of Phnom Penh, and then at 'Lycée Chasseloup Laubat' at Ho Chi Minh City. He later pursued his military training from the ‘Armoured Cavalry Branch Training School’ in the Saumur commune of Western France.

On April 25, 1941, Sihanouk was declared the King of Cambodia, after King Sisowath Monivong, his grandfather, died.

The Empire of Japan overthrew the French administration in Cambodia on March 9, 1945, and urged the young King of the nation to declare independence. The twenty-two year old ruler was forced to do so, and was appointed the first Prime Minister of Cambodia nine days later.

On August 14, 1945, the foreign minister Son Ngoc Thanh was made the Prime Minister of Cambodia, by the Japanese invaders, but Thanh remained in office only for two months.

Norodom took over Yem Sambaur as Prime Minister of Cambodia, on April 28, 1950, acting in the capacity for a month. Two years later, he was re-elected, this time remaining in office for a longer period of time.

On November 9, 1953, Cambodia gained independence from France, and Sihanouk's effective administration as the king, started.

This brilliant ruler of Cambodia was known for his fight for Cambodian independence, first from the French, then from the Japanese and eventually from Vietnam. He had formed several political organizations like 'Sangkum Reastr Niyum' and the 'National United Front of Kampuchea', to achieve this goal.