Norodom Ranariddh

Norodom Ranariddh (នរោត្តម រណឫទ្ធិ; 2 January 1944 – 28 November 2021) was a Cambodian prince, politician and law academic.

He was the second son of King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and a half-brother of King Norodom Sihamoni.

Ranariddh was the president of FUNCINPEC, a Cambodian royalist party.

Ranariddh was born on 2 January 1944 in Phnom Penh to Sihanouk and his first wife, Phat Kanhol, who was a ballet dancer attached to the royal court.

Ranariddh was separated from his mother at three years of age when she remarried, and subsequently grew up mostly under the care of his aunt, Norodom Ketkanya, and grandaunt, Norodom Sobhana.

Ranariddh attended primary education at Norodom School and completed part of his high school studies at Lycee Descartes in Phnom Penh.

During his childhood, he developed a close relationship with his grandparents, Norodom Suramarit and Sisowath Kossamak, but was distanced from his father.

In 1958, Ranariddh was sent to a boarding school in Marseille together with his half-brother Norodom Chakrapong.

Ranariddh initially planned to pursue medical studies as he did well in science subjects, but was persuaded by Kossamak to study law.

After finishing high school in 1961, he enrolled in the undergraduate law programme of the University of Paris.

He struggled to focus on his studies in Paris, which he attributed to the social distractions that he encountered in the city.

In 1962, Ranariddh enrolled in the law school of the University of Provence.

He obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1968 and 1969 respectively, specialising in public law.

After completing his master's, Ranariddh took the PhD qualifying examinations in 1969.

He returned to Cambodia in January 1970, and worked briefly as a secretary at the Interior Ministry.

When Lon Nol staged a successful coup against Sihanouk in March 1970, Ranariddh was dismissed from his job and fled into the jungle where he was a close associate of resistance leaders.

In 1983, he joined FUNCINPEC and in 1986 became the chief of staff and commander-in-chief of Armée nationale sihanoukiste.

Ranariddh became Secretary-General of FUNCINPEC in 1989, and its president in 1992.

He was also the first Prime Minister of Cambodia following the restoration of the monarchy, serving between 1993 and 1997, and subsequently as the President of the National Assembly between 1998 and 2006.

Ranariddh was a graduate of the University of Provence and started his career as a law researcher and lecturer in France.

When FUNCINPEC won the 1993 Cambodian general election, it formed a coalition government with the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which was jointly headed by two concurrently serving prime ministers.

Ranariddh became the First Prime Minister of Cambodia while Hun Sen, who was from the CPP, became the Second Prime Minister.

As the First Prime Minister, Ranariddh promoted business interests in Cambodia to leaders from regional countries and established the Cambodian Development Council (CDC).

From early 1996, relations between Ranariddh and Hun Sen deteriorated as Ranariddh complained of unequal distribution of government authority between FUNCINPEC and the CPP.

Subsequently, both leaders publicly argued over issues such as the implementation of construction projects, signing of property development contracts, and their rival alliances with the Khmer Rouge.

In July 1997, major clashes between troops separately aligned to FUNCINPEC and the CPP took place, forcing Ranariddh into exile.

The following month, Ranariddh was ousted from his position as First Prime Minister in a coup d'état.

He returned to Cambodia in March 1998, and led his party in the 1998 Cambodian general election.

When FUNCINPEC lost the elections to the CPP, Ranariddh, after initially challenging the results, became President of the National Assembly in November 1998.

He was seen as a potential successor to Sihanouk as the King of Cambodia, until in 2001 he renounced his interest in the succession.

As the President of the National Assembly, Ranariddh was one of the nine members of the throne council which in 2004 selected Sihamoni as Sihanouk's successor.

In March 2006, Ranariddh resigned as the President of the National Assembly and in October 2006 was ousted as President of FUNCINPEC.

The following month, he founded the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP).

Accusations and a conviction of embezzlement drove him into exile again.

He returned to Cambodia after being pardoned in September 2008 and retired from politics.

Between 2010 and 2012 he unsuccessfully attempted a merger of his NRP with FUNCINPEC.

In 2014, he launched the short-lived Community of Royalist People's Party (CRPP) before returning to FUNCINPEC in January 2015.

He was subsequently re-elected to the FUNCINPEC presidency.

Ranariddh remained out of public view since suffering a car accident during the 2018 election campaign, which saw the death of his second wife.

He made frequent visits to France for medical treatment, and died in November 2021 in Aix-en-Provence.