Norodom Arunrasmy ( km, នរោត្តម អរុណរស្មី; born 2 October 1955) is a Cambodian princess, politician, and diplomat. She is the youngest daughter of HM King Father Norodom Sihanouk and stepdaughter of Queen Mother Norodom Monineath. Her birth mother is Mam Manivan Phanivong, a Lao woman who was born in

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and married King Sihanouk in 1949.

Life and career

Arunrasmy attended primary school at the Petit Lycée Descartes in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, and attended secondary school at the

Dominican International School Dominican International School (), formerly Dominican School, is a Private school, private Catholic school, Catholic international school, located in Dazhi, Zhongshan District, Taipei, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan. The Sisters of the Con ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. In the 1980s she began her professional career in banking, working at the

Bank of California The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, and later

Siam Commercial Bank Siam Commercial Bank ( th, ธนาคารไทยพาณิชย์; ) is a Thai bank that was founded on 30 January 1907. History SCB was founded as the "Book Club" on 4 October 1904 by Prince Jayanta Mongkol, a brother of King Ch ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. After the

Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...

, Arunrasmay became deputy director and then director of Cambodian Agricultural Bank from 1992–1997. She was also a member of the

Cambodian Red Cross The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC; km, កាកបាទក្រហមកម្ពុជា, ) is the largest humanitarian organization in Cambodia. Established on 18 February 1955, it is officially recognized by the Royal Government as the pri ...

Committee and member of the ASEAN Women's Association (ASEAN Ladies Circle). She was selected as the

Funcinpec The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...

party candidate for the 2008 Cambodian parliamentary elections, she was the Cambodian Ambassador to Malaysia from 2005 to 2018 before being nominated to the Senate by King

Norodom Sihamoni Norodom Sihamoni ( km, នរោត្តម សីហមុនី, ; born 14 May 1953) is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sihano ...

. Her Highness is fluent in Khmer, French, Lao,

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

languages.

Family

Arunrasmy married

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Prince Sisowath Sirirath in 1970, with whom she had three children: Sisowath Nakia, Sisowath Nando and Sisowath Sirikith Nathalie. They divorced in 1991, and she then married

Keo Puth Rasmey Keo Puth Rasmey ( km, កែវ ពុទ្ធរស្មី, born 1 October 1952) is a Cambodian politician. On 19 October 2006 he was appointed to lead Funcinpec, the royalist party of Cambodia, replacing former leader Norodom Ranariddh. He ...

, with whom she had two children.

References

External links

Norodom

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norodom, Arunrasmy 1955 births Cambodian princesses Living people Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Children of prime ministers of Cambodia Cambodian people of Laotian descent Members of the Senate (Cambodia) Members of the Royal Order of Monisaraphon Daughters of kings