Analysis | Cambodia’s Hun Sen has ruled for 35 years – is he looking to shore up his dynasty?
- Critics say his political longevity has been won through murder, repression and corruption, but supporters point to relative peace and prosperity
- The prime minister is widely thought to harbour ambitions of passing power to one of his sons, mostly likely to de facto military chief Hun Manet
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen marks 35 years in office today, a landmark that divides opinion in the politically tense Southeast Asian nation.
Hun Sen can celebrate the fact that Cambodia belongs to him
“Hun Sen can celebrate the fact that Cambodia belongs to him,” said Paul Chambers, a political scientist at Naresuan University in Thailand.
The prime minister and his supporters, however, contend that he has ensured relative peace and prosperity in Cambodia, following a three-decade civil war and almost four years of genocide. Per capita GDP is now above US$1500, compared to US$254 in 1993, according to the World Bank, while Phnom Penh is a modern, vibrant capital.
After joining the Khmer Rouge in his teens, Hun Sen fled Cambodia in June 1976 – a year after the regime came to power – during a series of purges. Three years later, he helped lead other defectors and Vietnamese troops back into Cambodia to overthrow the Pol Pot regime, which was responsible for at least 1.7 million deaths. Hun Sen was then selected to become the new Cambodian state’s foreign minister; six years later, aged just 32, he was named prime minister.
