Prince Ranariddh

Norodom Ranariddh ( km, 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. 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. 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. 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.

Early life

Ranariddh was born 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.Mehta (2001), p. 4 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 1971, Ranariddh was captured, along with several members of the royal family, and was held in prison for six months before being released. He was rearrested the following year, and spent a further three months in detention. In 1973, Ranariddh returned to the University of Provence, where he completed his PhD in 1975.Mehta (2001), pp. 48–49 Between 1976 and 1979, he worked as a research fellow at the CNRS,Narong (2005), p. 204 and was awarded a diploma of higher studies in air transport. In 1979 Ranariddh went back to the University of Provence as an associate professor,Mehta (2001), p. 66 teaching courses in constitutional law and political sociology.

Entry into politics

Initial years in FUNCINPEC

When Sihanouk formed FUNCINPEC in 1981, Ranariddh declined his father's invitation to join the party as he disagreed with its association with the Khmer Rouge. In June 1983, Sihanouk urged Ranariddh to leave his teaching career in France and join FUNCINPEC, and this time he agreed. Ranariddh was appointed a personal representative to Sihanouk, and relocated to Bangkok, Thailand, where he took charge of the party's diplomatic and political activities in Asia. In March 1985, Ranariddh was appointed inspector-general of the (ANS), the armed force of FUNCINPEC, and in January 1986 became ANS commander-in-chief and chief-of-staff.

Ranariddh became secretary-general of FUNCINPEC in August 1989, when Sihanouk stepped down as its president. On 10 September 1990, Ranariddh joined the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), an interim United Nations administrative body tasked with overseeing sovereign affairs of Cambodia. When the 1991 Paris Peace Accords were signed in October of that year, officially ending the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, Ranariddh was one of the SNC signatories. In February 1992, he was elected to the presidency of FUNCINPEC.Widyono (2008), p. 154

1993 elections

When the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) – a parallel administrative body with the SNC – was formed in February 1992, Ranariddh was appointed one of its council members. He spent time travelling between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, and while in Phnom Penh led efforts in opening FUNCINPEC party offices across Cambodia.Mehta (2001), p. 88 At the same time, FUNCINPEC began to criticise the ruling CPP, which retaliated with violent attacks by police against low-level FUNCINPEC officials.

The attacks prompted Ranariddh's close aides, Norodom Sirivudh and Sam Rainsy, to advise him against registering the party for the 1993 general elections. However, the chef-de-mission for UNTAC, Yasushi Akashi, encouraged Ranariddh to run in the elections. Persuaded by Akashi, he registered the party and the election campaign began in April 1993. Ranariddh, as well as other FUNCINPEC officials, wore T-shirts depicting Sihanouk on the campaign trail. This nominally complied with an election rule by the UNTAC administration not to use Sihanouk's name during the campaign, who now served as the politically neutral head of the SNC. Voting took place in May 1993; FUNCINPEC secured about 45 percent of the valid votes, winning 58 out of a total of 120 parliamentary seats. The CPP refused to recognise the election results and complained of electoral fraud.Peou (2000), pp. 174–75

On 3 June 1993, CPP leaders Chea Sim and Hun Sen met with Sihanouk and persuaded him to head an interim government with the CPP and FUNCINPEC as joint coalition partners. Ranariddh, who had not been consulted, expressed surprise. At the same time, the United States and China opposed the plan, prompting Sihanouk to rescind his decision the following day. On 10 June 1993, CPP leaders led by General Sin Song and Chakrapong threatened to secede eight eastern provinces from Cambodia. Ranariddh feared a civil war with the CPP, which had a much larger army than the ANS.

Accordingly, he accepted the idea of FUNCINPEC working with the CPP, and both parties agreed to a dual prime minister arrangement in the new government. On 14 June, Ranariddh presided over a parliamentary meeting which made Sihanouk the Head of State, with Hun Sen and Ranariddh serving as co-Prime Ministers in an interim government. A new constitution was drafted over the next three months, and was adopted in early September. On 24 September 1993, Sihanouk resigned as the head of state and was reinstated as King of Cambodia. In the new government, Ranariddh and Hun Sen were appointed the First Prime Minister and Second Prime Minister, respectively.

Co-premiership (1993–1997)

Co-operation and co-administration with CPP

Benny Widyono, the UN secretary-general's representative in Cambodia from 1994 to 1997, has observed that although Ranariddh was nominally senior to Hun Sen, he held less executive power. Ranariddh initially viewed Hun Sen with suspicion, but the pair soon developed a close working relationship, agreeing on most policy decisions made until early 1996.Widyono (2008), pp. 214–15 In August 1993, while Cambodia was still under the administration of an interim government, Ranariddh and Hun Sen jointly applied to make the country a member in the International Organization of the Francophonie. The decision to enter the Francophonie sparked a debate among students in higher educational institutes, particularly those from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia who called for French to be replaced with English as the language of instruction. In response, Ranariddh encouraged students to simultaneously learn both English and French.

In August 1995, Ranariddh expressed admiration for the political and economic systems of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. As he saw it, these countries, characterised by hybrid regimes, active economic interventionism and limited press freedom, served as good models to propel Cambodia's socio-economic growth. Ranariddh espoused the view that economic development should take precedence over democratic and human rights. In the initial months of the administration, he actively courted political leaders from various regional countries, including Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, with a view to encouraging investment in Cambodia. In early 1994, Ranariddh established the Cambodian Development Council (CDC) to encourage foreign investment, and served as its chairperson. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, supported Ranariddh's plans, and encouraged Malaysian businessmen to invest and assist in developing the tourism, infrastructural development and telecommunications industries.

As the chairman of the CDC, Ranariddh gave his approval to at least 17 business contracts submitted by Malaysian businessmen between August 1994 and January 1995. The projects mostly covered infrastructural development, and included construction of a racing track, power plants and petrol stations.Widyono (2008), pp. 199–200 In November 1994, the CDC opened a tender to build a casino near Sihanoukville and proposals submitted by three companies were shortlisted; Ariston Berhad from Malaysia, Unicentral Corporation from Singapore and Hyatt International from the US. Ariston's proposal was valued at US$1.3 billion, and included bringing a luxury cruise ship with casino to Cambodia, to be used to accommodate tourists until the Sihanoukville resort was built. Before the tender was even concluded, Ariston's ship was brought to Phnom Penh in early December. The Tourism Minister, Veng Sereyvuth suspected that there was backroom dealing activities between CDC and Ariston, who were nevertheless awarded the contract, which Ranariddh signed in January 1995.

In 1992, the UNTAC administration had banned forest logging and timber exports, a major industry and source of foreign earnings. In October 1993, Ranariddh issued an order to lift the ban on a temporary basis so as to allow trees that were already felled to be exported for timber.Kiernan and Hughes (2007), p. 97 The Khmer Rouge still controlled large tracts of forests in the regions of western and northern Cambodia bordering Thailand, and helped finance its operations by selling timber to Thai forestry companies. The Cambodian government was unable to impose its will in Khmer Rouge territory, and was eager to regain the logging revenues.

In January 1994, Ranariddh and Hun Sen signed a bilateral agreement with Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai. The agreement provided for felled trees to be legally exported to Thailand on a temporary basis until 31 March 1994. The agreement also arranged for specially-designated customs zones to be created within Thai territory, which allowed Cambodian custom officials to inspect the logs and collect export duties.Kiernan and Hughes (2007), p. 78

The logging ban went into force on 31 March 1994, but trees continued to be felled and a new stockpile of timber was created. Ranariddh and Hun Sen gave special authorisation for the lumber to be exported to North Korea. They would continue the practice of periodically lifting export bans and granting special approvals to clear stocks of fallen timber on an on-and off-basis until Ranariddh's ouster in 1997. According to Canadian geographer Philippe Le Billon, Ranariddh and Hun Sen tacitly supported continued Khmer Rouge logging activities as it provided a lucrative backdoor source of cash revenue to finance their own political activities. Under Ranariddh's co-administration, Malaysia's Samling Berhad and Indonesia's Macro-Panin were among the largest beneficiaries of government contracts, as these two logging companies, in 1994–1995, secured rights to log 805,000 hectares and 1.4 million hectares of forests, respectively.

Conflicts within the government

In October 1994, Ranariddh and Hun Sen dropped Sam Rainsy as Finance Minister during a cabinet reshuffle.Peou (2000), p. 192 Rainsy had been appointed by Ranariddh in 1993, but both prime ministers became uncomfortable working with Rainsy, because of his pursuit of allegations of government corruption. Rainsy's dismissal upset Norodom Sirivudh, who resigned as Foreign Minister the following month. In March 1995, during an academic forum on corruption in Cambodia, Rainsy publicly questioned Ranariddh's acceptance of a Fokker 28 airplane and a US$108 million commission from Ariston Berhad. This angered Ranariddh, who expelled him from FUNCINPEC in May 1995. The following month, Ranariddh introduced a parliamentary motion to remove Rainsy as a member of parliament (MP).

In 1995, Ranariddh made calls for capital punishment by calling for murderers and drug traffickers to be executed by the state.

From January 1996 onwards, Ranariddh's relations with Hun Sen began to show signs of tension. Hun Sen submitted a government circular to reinstate 7 January as a national holiday, the anniversary of Phnom Penh's liberation from the Khmer Rouge by Vietnamese forces. Ranariddh added his signature to the circular, which incurred the ire of Sihanouk and several FUNCINPEC leaders. A few days later, apparently to tone down dissatisfaction from party members,

Ranariddh publicly accused the Army of Vietnam of encroaching into the territories of four Cambodian provinces bordering it. As Widyono saw it, Ranariddh intended to test Hun Sen's response to his accusations, of which the latter chose to remain quiet. During a closed-door FUNCINPEC meeting in the later part of January 1996, party members criticised Hun Sen and the CPP for monopolizing government power, and also chided Ranariddh for being too subservient to Hun Sen.

In February 1996, Ranariddh expressed concern over repeated delays in the construction of the resort-cum-casino complex at Sihanoukville, for which he had signed an agreement with Ariston in January 1995. Ariston blamed the lack of a governmental authority in Sihanoukville for the delay. At the end of April 1996, the government formed the Sihanoukville Developmental Authority (SDA) to oversee regulatory affairs and facilitate development. At a conference in May 1996, Ranariddh charged that CPP-controlled ministries were deliberately delaying the paperwork needed to complete the approval of Ariston's project.

According to Tioulong Saumura, the former deputy governor of Cambodia's Central Bank (and Sam Rainsy's wife), the delays were part of Hun Sen's strategy to undermine projects associated with Ranariddh. In an apparent act of retaliation, Ranariddh directed FUNCINPEC's co-minister of the interior, You Hockry

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