12 Facts About Norodom Chakravuth

Norodom Chakravuth is a Cambodian politician, member of the Cambodian royal family and the current president of the FUNCINPEC.

Norodom Chakravuth is a descendant of the Norodom branch of the Cambodian monarchy.

Norodom Chakravuth was born 13 January 1970, as the first-born of Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Eng Marie.

In 1973, Chakravuth was reunited with his father Ranariddh who sought asylum in France and studied law at the University of Provence, before teaching there.

Norodom Chakravuth lived with his family in Aix-en-Provence until moving to Paris to further his studies.

Quickly after being appointed, Norodom Chakravuth removed three senior party officials from their positions, among which You Hockry, displaying a conflict in the inner workings of the Funcinpec party.

Since taking over the acting presidency of his party, Prince Norodom Chakravuth has been confronted with narrowing popular support and financial difficulties, which have led to bitter discussions and controversial sale of party property.

From 6 to 8 December 2021, Prince Norodom Chakravuth conducted the royal funeral of his father in front of Wat Botum, under the auspices of the Queen Mother Monique of Cambodia and the reigning king Sihamoni; as Khmer tradition prescribes, after the body of the deceased was cremated, Prince Norodom Chakravuth picked up from the ashes the gold coin which had been placed in the mouth of the deceased.

In 2022, three months after the FUNCINPEC president, Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Chakravuth Ranariddh, passed away on 28 November 2021, Cambodian Minister of the Interior Sar Kheng encouraged the FUNCINPEC to elect a new leader in late January 2022.

Against supporters of his aunt Princess Norodom Arunrasmy who had already been president of Funcinpec between 2013 and 2015 and had not left behind her an imperishable memory, Prince Norodom Chakravuth was elected unanimously by the FUNCINPEC Congress to be the party president on 9 February 2022.

Norodom Chakravuth has been able to build a strong coalition winning the support of elderly advisers and long-time gone members of his party.

Since the Cambodian National Rescue Party, the country's main opposition party, was dissolved in 2017 by the Supreme Court of Cambodia, the FUNCINPEC of Norodom Chakravuth has a chance of becoming a major player in Khmer politics as Cambodia will hold the commune election in June 2022 and the general election in 2023.