A country with stunning nature, ancient and rich history - the Kingdom of Cambodia, located in the south of the Indochinese Peninsula. More than 15 million people live in the country. The capital is Phnom Penh, but, of course, the ancient city of Angkor Wat and its magnificent temple complex are more famous. In the 20th century, the population of the country fell to the terrible years of trials, the genocide unleashed by the Khmer Rouge, who massacred their people in the construction of agrarian socialism. After many years of trials, by the end of the 20th century, the country received its modern name (Cambodia) and the king.
Return to Monarchy
In the past, the country managed to visit a colony of France (since the 19th century) and Japan (from 1942 to 1945). After gaining independence in 1953, its inhabitants began to build Khmer Buddhist socialism. This happened against the backdrop of a civil war in which North and South Vietnam directly participated, and which were actively assisted by the Soviet Union and the United States. ATAs a result, pro-American forces came to power in 1970, and the King of Cambodia was forced to leave his homeland. The country managed to visit Democratic Kampuchea, the People's Republic of Kampuchea and the State of Cambodia, until in 1993, with the assistance of the UN, general elections were held. On September 24, 1993, the monarchy was restored, headed by the King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, and the country received a new name - the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Head of State and only
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy. The King of Cambodia is a symbolic figure representing a state that brings peace, stability and prosperity to the Khmer people. The country is one of the few non-hereditary monarchies in the world. The King of Cambodia is elected for life from among members of the royal family who have reached the age of 30. The Royal Council, made up of high-ranking statesmen and religious figures, elects the monarch. The current King of Cambodia is Norodom Sihamoni.
Young years
Sihamoni was born in 1953. His mother, Queen Monineat, was the second wife of Norodom Sihanouk, the granddaughter of a Khmer prince and the daughter of the European (Franco-Italian) banker Jean-Francois Izzy. She was a constant companion of the King of Cambodia after they met in 1951 when Monineat won a national beauty pageant. His parents married twice, the first time a year after they met, when she was 15 years old. The official ceremony took place later.
His name was made up of the first parts of his father's namesSia and Moni's mother. Sihamoni has 12 half-siblings, the only biological younger brother died in 2003. After completing three years of elementary school, he was sent to Prague (then the capital of Czechoslovakia) to receive general and special education. In the royal palace, much attention was paid to the preservation of traditional dance, based largely on the plots of the Indian epic Ramayana, but they were also interested in classical ballet. At the palace there was a school of classical dance, where teachers from Moscow taught, and there young Sihamoni began teaching dance and the Russian language.
European education
At the age of nine, Sihamoni came to Prague to continue his education. The future king of Cambodia attended an initial course in dance, music and theater at the National Conservatory. He lived in the embassy, from where he was driven to school by a chauffeur, danced children's roles, then in the corps de ballet of the National Theater. In 1971-1975, Sihamoni received his higher education at the Prague Academy of Musical Art in the course of classical dance, music and theater. He was in Prague during the coup d'état that overthrew his father. In 1975, he studied filmmaking in North Korea, from where he returned to his homeland. The King of Cambodia is now perhaps the only monarch ruling in Asia and Africa who is fluent in Czech, English, Russian, and also French.
Return
The homeland unkindly met its prince, the leadership of the Khmer Rouge put the future king of Cambodia and his family under house arrest. The royal family was liberated by other communists from Vietnam who invaded Cambodia in 1979 in response to an attack by the Khmer Rouge. Sihamoni went abroad again in 1981. He lived in France for 20 years, teaching ballet and being president of the Khmer Dance Association. While living in Europe, Sihamoni often visited Prague, where he spent his childhood and youth. In 1993, after the restoration of the monarchy in Cambodia, he became the country's ambassador to UNESCO, where he did a lot to preserve and promote Khmer culture and especially traditional dance.
Long live the king
In 2004, his father, who was undergoing treatment in China, announced his abdication, although the laws of Cambodia do not provide for such a procedure. Norodom Sihanouk, who was undergoing treatment in China, addressed the nation, saying that he was tired and asked that he no longer pray for his he alth. A week after the abdication of the old king, Norodom Sihamoni, on the recommendation of the country's Prime Minister Hun Sen and Speaker of the National Assembly, Prince Norodom Ranariddhom, was elected King of Cambodia by the Royal Council. The king is unmarried. His father also said that Sihamoni loves women like sisters.
