Jolie gets citizenship
2005-08-12 07:38
Phnom Penh - Cambodia has granted citizenship to Hollywood screen temptress Angelina Jolie to hail her environmental work here and because she has adopted a Cambodian child, an official said on Friday.
A legal document seen by AFP and signed by King Norodom Sihamoni "provides Cambodian nationality to Angelina Jolie, an American born on June 4, 1975 in Los Angeles, USA."
The actress was thrilled and said she would visit the country when she is made a citizen, Toun Siphan, director of the government's international relations department, told AFP.
"She was so happy, she loves Cambodia and wants to help. She said she would come to Cambodia when she received her citizenship," Toun Siphan said.
Jolie had provided about two million dollars to assist wildlife reserves in northwestern Pailin and Oddar Meanchey provinces, Toun Siphan said.
Northwestern Cambodia is one of the worst mined areas in the kingdom, which endured three decades of conflict, including the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot. Peace officially arrived in 1998.
Jolie's adoption in 2002 of Cambodia boy, Maddox, now aged four, was also a factor in the government's decision, Toun Siphan said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen raised the idea of offering citizenship to the Oscar-winning actress when he met her in July 2004 to discuss Cambodia's problem of deforestation.
Jolie said afterwards she would be "thrilled and very, very honoured" to be granted Cambodian nationality.
Jolie fell in love with Cambodia when shooting the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at the famed Angkor Wat temple, and owns a home in Samlot district in nearby Battambang province.
Last month she expanded her brood by adopting an Ethiopian girl, Zahara Marley, who is not yet one year old.