Sam Rainsy

Sam Rainsy was born on March 19, 1949 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His father was named Sam Sary, who had served as Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia in the 1950s. His mother was named In Em.

In 1965, his family moved to France after his mother was arrested and his father disappeared after government charges that he had been involved in an attempted coup d’état. He attended primary school in Paris, France before attending the prestigious ‘Lycee Janson de Sailly high school.

He graduated from ‘L'Institut d'etudes politiques’ in Paris, France with a degree in Political Science in 1971. He received a degree in Economics two years later, from the ‘Faculte de droit et des sciences economiques’ in Paris, France.

He received a degree in Accounting from the ‘French Ministry of Education’ in 1979. The following year, he was awarded a ‘Master of Business Administration’ from INSEAD in Fountainebleau, France.

In 1989, he was elected by Prince Norodom Ranariddh to be his European representative. In France, he worked briefly as an investment banker before opening his own accounting firm.

In 1992, Rainsy joined the ‘Funcincpec Party’ in Cambodia. A year later, he was elected to the Parliament in Cambodia, representing Siem Reap Province, and served two years.

While in office, he served as the Minister of Economy and Finance of Cambodia from September 24, 1993 to October 24, 1994.

In 1994, he was expelled from the ‘Funcincpec Party’ after a vote of no confidence. Then he founded the ‘Khmer Nation Party’, a year later.

In 1997, he was injured during a grenade attack at a political rally. Close to sixteen people died and more than a thousand were injured in the attack.

Sam Rainsy is an internationally respected spokesperson for democracy, capitalism and fairness in government while his homeland of Cambodia struggles with coups, revolutions, invasions and regicide.