Hun Sen

Hun Sen (born 5 August 1952 in Kampong Cham province) led Cambodia for nearly four decades as Prime Minister and remains president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP). A former Khmer Rouge battalion commander, he defected to Vietnam in 1977 and returned after the Vietnamese ouster of Pol Pot's regime in January 1979, becoming foreign minister of the People's Republic of Kampuchea at age 26. He assumed the premiership in 1985.

Following the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)-supervised 1993 elections, Hun Sen's CPP finished second to FUNCINPEC but forced a power-sharing arrangement as "Second Prime Minister." In July 1997 he ousted co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh in what observers described as a coup, consolidating sole control after the 1998 elections.

His tenure has been characterized by:

• Sustained electoral dominance by the CPP, with opposition parties repeatedly dissolved or sidelined — most notably the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), dissolved by the Supreme Court in November 2017.
• Close alignment with China, including major Belt and Road infrastructure projects and the controversial Ream Naval Base expansion.
• Suppression of independent media, including the 2017 closure of The Cambodia Daily and restrictions on Radio Free Asia and Voice of Democracy (shuttered February 2023).
• A dynastic transition: in August 2023, following CPP's sweep of July 2023 elections held without meaningful opposition, Hun Sen handed the premiership to his eldest son Hun Manet, while retaining party leadership and later becoming Senate President in 2024.

Western governments and human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized his record on political freedoms, while he has cultivated influence within ASEAN, chairing the bloc in 2002, 2012, and 2022. Despite stepping down as PM, he is widely regarded as Cambodia's paramount political figure.