Sam Rainsy

Sam Rainsy (born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian politician, activist and economist who previously served as the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party due to the continued ban on political activity by the party's leader, Kem Sokha. Between 1998 and 2017, he was the leading opposition figure in Cambodian politics and the main challenger to prime minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party. Since 2015, he has lived in exile, having been banned from entering the country. Sam Rainsy became a member of parliament for Siem Reap in 1993 in elections organized by UNTAC. He has had his parliamentary immunity revoked three times. He was MP for Siem Reap from 1993 until 1995 when he was expelled from the Constituent Assembly. A co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Rainsy was previously a member of the royalist Funcinpec Party and served as the Minister of Economy and Finance during Norodom Ranariddh's administration from 1993 until his sacking in 1994. In June 1995, he was expelled from the National Assembly, and formed the Khmer Nation Party (KNP), which changed its name before the 1998 elections to the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) to avoid registration issues. From 2000 to 2002 and again from 2012 to 2014, Rainsy was the chairperson of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. Sam Rainsy went into exile on February 3, 2005, citing fear of arrest after a vote in the National Assembly removed parliamentary immunity from himself and fellow SRP MPs Chea Poch and Cheam Channy. Rainsy faced multiple criminal defamation charges after accusing the Cambodian People's Party and Funcinpec of corruption in the formation of the current coalition government. He has also accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of involvement in the 2004...