Hun Sen

Hun Sen (born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the president of the Senate and acting head of state. He previously served as the prime minister of Cambodia (1985–1993), the second prime minister (1993–1998) and the prime minister again (1998–2023). Hun Sen is the longest-serving head of government in Cambodia's history. He is the president of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP), which has governed Cambodia since 1979, and has served as a member of the Senate since 2024. Hun Sen has been regarded as the de facto leader of Cambodia since circa 1993; since 2023, he is also seen as de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs in his capacity as the President of Senate. Born Hun Bunal, he changed his name to Hun Sen in 1972, two years after joining the Khmer Rouge as a soldier. He fought for the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian Civil War and was a battalion commander in Democratic Kampuchea until defecting in 1977 and fighting alongside Vietnamese forces in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. From 1979 to 1986 and again from 1987 to 1990, he served as Cambodia's foreign minister in the puppet government installed by Vietnam. At age 26, he was also the world's youngest foreign minister. Hun Sen rose to the premiership in January 1985 when the one-party National Assembly appointed him to succeed Chan Sy, who had died in office in December 1984. He held the position until the 1993 UN-backed elections which resulted in a hung parliament, with the monarchist opposition party FUNCINPEC winning the majority of votes. Hun Sen refused to accept the result. After negotiations with FUNCINPEC, Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen agreed to simultaneously serve as First and Second Prime Minister,...