Hun Sen
Prime Minister of Cambodia
Incumbent
Assumed office  30 November 1998
Monarch	Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihamoni
Preceded by	Ung Huot
Born	5 August 1952 (1952-08-05) (age 55) Peam Koh Sna
Political party	CPP
Spouse	Bun Rany

Hun Sen (born April 4, 1951 or August 5, 1952) is the Prime Minister of Cambodia. He is a key leader of the Cambodian People's Party, which, has governed Cambodia since the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1993, most of the time in coalition with the royalist Funcinpec party. The title "Samdech" was attached to his name in 1993 by King Norodom Sihanouk. It is only an honorary title and does not give him further powers. He has a glass eye, the result of a wound sustained during the Khmer Rouge offensive against Phnom Penh in April 1975. This is a list of prime ministers of Cambodia. ... Open seat redirects here. ... is the 334th day of the year (335th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Time in office: Apr. ... Norodom Sihamoni (born 14 May 1953) is the king of Cambodia. ... Ung Huot (born 1947) is a Cambodian political figure. ... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Bun Rany is the First Lady of Cambodia, wife of Samdech Hun Sen and head of the Cambodian Red Cross. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Funcinpec is a royalist Cambodian political party. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Time in office: Apr. ...

Political career

Hun Sen was selected by the Vietnamese for a leadership role in the rebel army and government they were creating for Cambodia. When the Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown, Hun Sen was appointed foreign minister of the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of Kampuchea in 1979 and served until 1990, with a brief interruption from 1986 until 1987. As foreign minister Hun Sen was a key figure in the Paris Peace Talks which brokered peace in Indochina. He became Prime Minister in 1985, shortly after the death of Chan Sy. From 1993 until 1998 he was co-prime-minister with Prince Norodom Ranariddh. After the fall of Democratic Kampuchea, Cambodia was under Vietnamese occupation and in a civil war during the 1980s. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... This article is about the year. ... --Rlandmann 06:50, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Prince Norodom Ranariddh (born January 2, 1944) is the second son of King Norodom Sihanouk and a half brother of Norodom Sihamoni. ...

In 1997, the coalition was shaken by tensions between Funcinpec leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen. Funcinpec began to collaborate with the remaining Khmer Rouge rebels (with whom it had been allied against Hun Sen's Vietnamese-backed government during the 1980s), aiming to absorb them into its ranks.^[1] In response, Hun Sen launched a bloody military coup, removing Ranariddh and becoming the country's sole prime minister in 1998. Several royalist supporters were killed or tortured by CPP members, though Hun Sen denied any involvement. ^[1] He also denied that his action was a coup, arguing that if he had wanted to make a coup, he would have abolished the monarchy. ^[2] Flag of Democratic Kampuchea The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: ) was the ruling political party of Cambodia—which it renamed the Democratic Kampuchea—from 1975 to 1979. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...

The elections of July 2003 resulted in a larger majority in the National Assembly for the CPP, with FUNCINPEC losing seats to CPP and the Sam Rainsy Party. However, CPP's majority was short of the constitutionally-required 2/3 for the CPP to form a government alone. This deadlock was overcome through some creative interpretation of the constitution and a new CPP-FUNCINPEC coalition was formed in mid 2004. The Sam Rainsy Party (Pak Sam Rainsy or Kanakpak Som Raeangsee) is a personalist and more or less liberal party in Cambodia. ...

Criticism

Some political opponents of Hun Sen accuse him of being a puppet of Hanoi due to his position in the government created by Vietnam while Cambodia was under Vietnamese military occupation. The accusation is also based on the fact that he was involved in the former PRK as a prominent figure in the People's Revolutionary Party of Kampuchea (now known as the Cambodian People's Party,) which governed Cambodia as a one-party state under Vietnamese military occupation from 1979 until the restoration of democracy in 1993. Hun Sen tends to denounce such charges, claiming that he represents only the Cambodian people. More recent political opponents outside the country accuse him of being a corrupt dictator who controls the country by force. For the puzzle, see Tower of Hanoi. ... The Kampuchean Peoples Revolutionary Party (KPRP) was the sole ruling party in Cambodia from 1979 to 1991, when it was renamed the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) during a UN-sponsored peace and reconciliation process. ...

Hun Sen was accused of ordering his personal body guards to throw hand grenades into the crowd of protestors led by Sam Rainsy in 1997, which lead dozens of innocent people died and hundreds of others injured. Hun Sen was also badly criticized by ordering his men called Pagoda Boys (Khmeng Wat) to stop or fight against any demonstators against him. Sam Rainsy (born March 10, 1949) is a Cambodian politician. ...

Family

Hun Sen is married to Bun Rany. In October, 2007, Hun Sen made a surprise announcement at a graduation ceremony in front of an audience of around 3,000 that his adopted daughter is lesbian. He explained that this was a personal struggle for him and while he had learned that it was OK to be gay, he could not accept this in his own family. As a result, he is taking legal steps to disown his adopted lesbian daughter and to prevent her from any entitlement to inheritance. Nonetheless, he asked the audience to accept gays and lesbians.^[3][4] Also of note, the former King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, wrote in his website journal that he supported the rights of gays and lesbians to same-sex marriage. Bun Rany is the First Lady of Cambodia, wife of Samdech Hun Sen and head of the Cambodian Red Cross. ... Time in office: Apr. ...

Although Hun Sen's birthday is officially celebrated on April 4, he revealed that his actual date of birth was August 5, 1952 (Cambodia Daily, April 5, 2007). He apparently altered his date of birth to appear older when joining the Khmer Rouge as a youth. He joined the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, as Senator for Life in October 2007 (see [2]). The International Parliament for Safety and Peace Headline text Diplomacy for Peace Intergovernmental Organization Office for International Diplomatic Cooperation http://www. ...

Footnotes

The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... The Bangkok Post is a broadsheet English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. ...

Further reading

• Elizabeth Becker. 1986, 1998. When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 1-891620-00-2
• Harish C. Mehta and Julie B. Mehta. 1999. Hun Sen: Strongman of Cambodia. Singapore: Graham Brash Pte Ltd. ISBN 981-218-074-5
• Biography of Hun Sen Cambodia New Vision ~ newsletter of cabinet of Cambodia's Prime Ministerial office

v • d • e Prime Ministers of Cambodia since 1970 Khmer Republic: Lon Nol | Sisowath Sirik Matak | Son Ngoc Thanh | Hang Thun Hak | In Tam | Long Boret | Sosthene Fernandez | Penn Nouth Democratic Kampuchea: Penn Nouth | Khieu Samphan | Pol Pot Elizabeth Becker is a journalist and author who specializes in trade, development, and Asian affairs. ... Ung Huot (born 1947) is a Cambodian political figure. ... This is a list of prime ministers of Cambodia. ... --Rlandmann 06:50, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ... This is a list of prime ministers of Cambodia. ... The Sen-Ranariddh Coalition was a brief period in Cambodia where Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh were coequal Prime Ministers. ... This is a list of prime ministers of Cambodia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Khmer_Republic. ... Insurrection and War, 1967-75 By the mid-1960s, Norodom Sihanouks delicate balancing act was beginning to go awry. ... Lon Nol (លន់នល់ in Khmer) (​November 13, 1913 - November 17, 1985) was a Cambodian politician and soldier who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister. ... Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak (January 22, 1914 — April 21, 1975) was a prince of Cambodia. ... Son Ngoc Thanh (December 7, 1908–1977) was a Cambodian nationalist with a longtime history as a rebel and (for brief periods) a government minister. ... In Tam (September 22, 1916 - April 1, 2006) is a former Prime Minister of Cambodia. ... Long Boret (January 3, 1933 – April 17, 1975) was a Cambodian politician who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia from (December 26, 1973–April 17, 1975). ... General Sosthène Fernandez was the commander-in-chief of the Khmer National Armed Forces (French: Force Armée Nationale Khmère) and chief of general staff after Norodom Sihanouk was deposed as head of state in 1970. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Democratic_Kampuchea. ... Flag Anthem Dap Prampi Mesa Chokchey Capital Phnom Penh Language(s) Khmer language Government Socialist republic Historical era Cold War  - Civil War 1967-1975  - Established April 17, 1975  - Fall of Phnom Pehn January 7, 1979  - Monarchy restored 1993-09-24 Currency Riel Democratic Kampuchea (French:Kampuchea démocratique, Khmer: ) was... Khieu Samphan (born July 27, 1931) was the president of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. ... Saloth Sar (May 19, 1925 – April 15, 1998), aliases Pol, Pouk, Hay, Grand-Uncle, First Brother, 87, Phem, 99, and best known as Pol Pot[1], was the leader of the communist movement called Khmer Rouge and the Prime Minister of Cambodia (officially renamed the Democratic Kampuchea during his rule... People's Republic of Kampuchea: Pen Sovan | Chan Sy | Hun Sen Image File history File links Flag_of_the_People's_Republic_of_Kampuchea. ... The Peoples Republic of Kampuchea, The Vietnamese Occupation On January 10, 1979, the Vietnamese installed Heng Samrin as head of state in the new Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). ... Pen Sovan (born 1936) was the first Prime Minister of the Hanoi-backed Peoples Republic of Kampuchea. ... --Rlandmann 06:50, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ... State of Cambodia: Hun Sen | Sen-Ranariddh Coalition | Norodom Ranariddh Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Motto (English: Nation, Religion, King) Anthem Nokoreach Capital (and largest city) Phnom Penh Official languages Khmer Government Democratic constitutional monarchy  -  King Norodom Sihamoni  -  Prime Minister Hun Sen Independence from France   -  Declared 1949   -  Recognized 1953  Area  -  Total 181,035 km² (89th) 69,898 sq mi   -  Water (%) 2. ... The Sen-Ranariddh Coalition was a brief period in Cambodia where Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh were coequal Prime Ministers. ... Prince Norodom Ranariddh (born January 2, 1944) is the second son of King Norodom Sihanouk and a half brother of Norodom Sihamoni. ... Kingdom of Cambodia: Norodom Ranariddh | Ung Huot | Hun Sen

v • d • e Prominent Members of the Khmer Rouge Pol Pot | Khieu Samphan | Nuon Chea | Ta Mok | Son Sen | Ieng Sary | Hu Nim | Khang Khek Ieu | Ieng Thirith | Ke Pauk | Hun Sen (defected)