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PoliticsCambodia

Cambodian king appoints Hun Sen's son as new leader

August 7, 2023

Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for nearly four decades, is passing the baton to his eldest son. This follows confirmation of a landslide election victory last month in a vote decried as a sham.

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Hun Manet smiles and waves
Hun Manet will lead the country after his father, Prime Minister Hun Sen, announced retirementImage: Heng Sinith/AP Photo/picture alliance

Cambodia's king on Monday approved the nomination of Hun Manet to lead the country following his father Hun Sen's retirement from politics after nearly 40 years in office.

King Norodom Sihamoni issued a royal decree stating that he "appoints" Hun Manet as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The decree was shared on Hun Sen's Telegram channel. 

However, Hun Manet and his cabinet must first win a confidence vote in parliament set for August 22 before officially becoming leader. 

Hun Sen, Cambodia's longest-serving leader, announced last month that he would step down as prime minister and hand power to his eldest son. His announcement followed the ruling Cambodian People's Party's (CPP) win in the country's latest vote last month.

The election was widely condemned as a sham by Western countries and entities. The opposition Candlelight Party was barred from competing over a technicality.

The CPP ended up reaping 120 of the lower house's 125 seats, results formally confirmed last week by the electoral commission.

Hun Sen's iron grip

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge cadre, has run Cambodia since 1985 with an iron grip.

Throughout his decades-long tenure, Hun Sen has eliminated any opposition to his authority, banning opposition parties, forcing challengers to flee the country, and stifling freedom of expression.

His CPP party was found to have won an overwhelming 82% of the latest election vote, but led critics to draw parallels with the dynastic succession of North Korea's leadership.

Aged 45, Hun Manet was Cambodia's prime minister-designate before he even took up a seat in parliament, which he only did after last month's vote.

A senior general, and also the head of Cambodia's counterterrorism force, he was sent to the US military academy at West Point for one of the three economics degrees he completed while spending his young adult life abroad.

Nevertheless, Hun Manet's western education is not projected to see him usher policies toward a more Western approach. Hun Sen has also made it clear that he intends to retain influence and power even after relinquishing the top position.

rmt/msh (AFP, AP)