Norodom Sihamoni << NAWR uh duhm see HAM oh NEE >> (1953-…), became the king of Cambodia in 2004. He succeeded his father, former King Norodom Sihanouk, also known as the King Father. The monarchy in Cambodia no longer holds any political power, but it is still considered sacred by the Cambodian people.
Norodom Sihamoni was born on May 14, 1953, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to King Sihanouk and Queen Monineath. Beginning in 1962, Sihamoni attended school in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic). He later studied dance, music, and theater there. Sihamoni also studied cinematography in North Korea.
From 1981 to 2000, Sihamoni worked in Paris as a classical dance professor. He also served as Cambodia’s cultural ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 1993 to 2004. By 2004, Sihamoni had spent most of his life outside of Cambodia and had not shown any political ambitions.
According to the Cambodian constitution, a Royal Throne Council selects the successor to the throne from among four branches of the royal family. Sihamoni was not Sihanouk’s eldest living son at the time he became king. Many experts believed that it was Sihamoni’s lack of involvement in Cambodian politics that led King Sihanouk to recommend him, and the Royal Throne Council to choose him, as the royal successor, rather than one of his older brothers. Shamoni was crowned king of Cambodia on Oct. 29, 2004.
