Cambodian Prince Ranariddh appointed chief advisor to King Sihamoni

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh (pictured) has been appointed King Norodom Sihamoni's chief advisor, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily on Wednesday quoted royal sources as saying.

King Sihamoni appointed his half-brother in a royal decree dated Dec. 6, with the prince's new position holding a rank equivalent to prime minister, said Oum Daravuth, member of the Royal Palace cabinet.

The appointment came as the culmination of months of speculation that the prince would abandon his political career fora role in the Royal Palace.

Ranariddh used to head the royalist Funcinpec Party and served as prime minister of the first government of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

He was dumped as party president in late 2006 and then sued by Funcinpec for embezzling money while selling party estate.

He received sentence over the lawsuit, stayed overseas for months, and finally escaped imprisonment due to a pardon from the king.

Editor: Bi Mingxin