Cambodia and Asia’s longest-serving leader, Hun Sen has stepped down for his son, Hun Manet, to become the new Prime Minister.
After his Cambodian People’s Party won a landslide victory in July elections that were criticized by Western governments and rights groups as neither free nor fair, Hun Sen declared that his son would succeed him.
His Cabinet includes Tea Seiha, who will be replacing his father, Tea Banh, as minister of national defense, and Sar Sokha, who is replacing his father, Sar Kheng, as minister of the interior. They would also serve as deputy prime ministers.
During his 38-year reign, Hun Sen incorporated a free-market economy that raised the standards of living of many Cambodians.
But the gap between the rich and poor was great under his leadership, deforestation stretched at a ridiculous rate, and there was general land grabbing by his Cambodian partners and foreign investors.
Hun Sen was an army under extreme communist Khmer Rouge who facilitated the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians from starvation, illness and killings in the 1970s.
Hun Manet was educated in the West. He has a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy West Point, a master’s degree from New York University, and a doctorate from Bristol University in Britain, all in economics.
