Hun Sen

Hun Sen was born on 5 August 1952,{{cite news |title=Cambodian PM to change his official date of birth-Xinhua |url=https://english.news.cn/20220517/742a41b3a1614eaeb4928badad2b9adf/c.html |access-date=14 May 2023 |agency=Xinhua |date=17 May 2022}} in Peam Kaoh Sna, Kampong Cham as Hun Bunal (also called Hun Nal),{{Cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=Harish C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SqJAAAAQBAJ&q=hun+sen+name+change&pg=PA62|title=Strongman: The Extraordinary Life of Hun Sen: The Extraordinary Life of Hun Sen|last2=Mehta|first2=Julie B.|date=2013|publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd|isbn=978-981-4484-60-2|pages=62, 73|language=en}} the third of six children. His father, Hun Neang, had been a resident monk in a local Wat in Kampong Cham province before defrocking himself to join the French resistance and marry Hun Sen's mother, Dee Yon, in the 1940s. Hun Neang's paternal grandparents were wealthy landowners of Chinese heritage.Forest (2008), p. 178 "Sino-khmer originaire du district de Krauch Chmar 140, Hun Sèn descend par ses grands-parents paternels d'une famille de propriétaires terriens qui paraît correspondre au stéréotype du Chinois – téochiew ? – implanté en zone rurale, c'est-à-dire aisée mais sans pouvoir administratif. Par sa mère, il descendrait inversement d'une tête de réseau....."Time, Volume 136 (1990), p. 329 Beijing has not softened its hostility toward Hun Sen, but there are subtle signs that China may yet shift its position. Some officials now mention that Hun Sen's grandfather was Chinese, seeming to hint at the possibility of a new.... His Chinese ancestry is at Zhuanshui Village, Tanjiang Town, Fengshun County.

Hun Neang inherited some of his family assets, including several hectares of land, and led a relatively comfortable life until a kidnapping incident forced their family to sell off much of their assets.Harish C. Mehta (1999), p. 15-6 Hun Nal left his family at the age of 13 to attend a monastic school in Phnom Penh. At the time, he changed his name to Ritthi Sen or simply Sen; his prior given name, Nal, was often a nickname for overweight children.

He graduated with a master in state administrative management from the National Academy of Public Administration of Vietnam.

When Lon Nol removed Norodom Sihanouk from power in 1970, Sen gave up his education to join the Khmer Rouge following Sihanouk's call to join the insurgency.Harish C. Mehta (1999), p. 11, 21 Sen also claims he was inspired to fight against foreign interference when his hometown of Memot was bombed by U.S. aircraft in Operation Menu. Sen claims he had no political opinions or ideology at the time.{{Cite web|title=A Talk with Prime Minister Hun Sen|url=http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/talk-prime-minister-hun-sen|access-date=12 December 2020|website=www.culturalsurvival.org|date=2 March 2010 |language=en}} As a soldier, he again changed his name, this time to Hun Samrach, to conceal his identity.

He changed his name to Hun Sen two years later, saying that the name Hun Samrach had been inauspicious and that he had been wounded several times during the period he had that name. Sen rapidly ascended ranks as a soldier, and fought during the fall of Phnom Penh, becoming injured and being hospitalized for some time and sustaining a permanent eye injury.

In Democratic Kampuchea, Sen served as a Battalion Commander in the Eastern Region, with authority over around 2000 men. The involvement or role of Sen in the Cambodian genocide is unclear, although he denies complicity.{{Cite news|date=27 July 2018|title=Hun Sen: Cambodia's strongman prime minister|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23257699|access-date=8 December 2020}} Human Rights Watch suggested he may have had a role in a massacre to suppress Cham Muslim unrest in September–October 1975, but Sen has denied this, claiming that he had stopped following orders from the central government by this time. Sen claims he had increasing disagreements with Khmer Rouge authorities in the administration throughout 1975–1977.

In 1977, during internal purges of the Khmer Rouge regime, Hun Sen and his battalion cadres fled to Vietnam. During the Cambodian–Vietnamese War as Vietnam prepared to invade Cambodia, Hun Sen became one of the leaders of the Vietnamese-sponsored rebel army. He was given the secret name Mai Phúc{{efn|Means "forever happiness".}} by Vietnamese leaders.

Following the defeat of the Khmer Rouge regime, Hun Sen was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of Kampuchea/State of Cambodia (PRK/SOC) in 1979 at age 26. The Vietnamese-appointed government appointed Sen some authority over the K5 Plan, a Khmer Rouge containment strategy that saw the mass mobilization of civilian labor in constructing barricades and land mines, although the extent of his involvement is unclear.

Hun Sen first rose to the premiership in January 1985 when the one-party National Assembly encouraged by politburo cadre Say Phouthang{{Cite news |last=Jeerawat |first=Na Thaland |date=26 June 2016 |title=Tearful farewell for the Thai-bornkingmaker who crowned Hun Sen |language=en |work=Bangkok Post |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1020213/tearful-farewell-for-the-thai-bornkingmaker-who-crowned-hun-sen |access-date=25 May 2023 |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727010539/https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1020213/tearful-farewell-for-the-thai-bornkingmaker-who-crowned-hun-sen |url-status=live }} appointed him to succeed Chan Sy, who had died in office in December 1984. As the de facto leader of Cambodia, in 1985, he was elected as Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister. Sen oversaw continuing conflict against several ongoing insurgencies during this period.

In 1987, Amnesty International accused Hun Sen's government of torturing thousands of political prisoners, using "electric shocks, hot irons and near-suffocation with plastic bags."{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8013822.html|title=Cambodia is Said to Torture Prisoners|author=|date=4 June 1987|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063352/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8013822.html|archive-date=11 June 2014|access-date=13 February 2014|newspaper=The Boston Globe}}{{cite news|title=Kampuchea: Political Imprisonment and Torture|author=Amnesty International|date=June 1987|location=London}}[https://apnews.com/619e25a700c5ec2e46e3dfc2438227bb Cambodia Criticizes Amnesty International Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409083038/https://apnews.com/619e25a700c5ec2e46e3dfc2438227bb |date=9 April 2023 }} The Associated Press. 6 June 1987

As foreign minister and then prime minister, Hun Sen played a role in the 1991 Paris Peace Talks, which brokered peace in Cambodia and formally ended the Cambodian–Vietnamese War.

He held the position of prime minister during the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) until the 1993 UN-sponsored elections, which resulted opposition party FUNCINPEC winning the majority of votes with a hung parliament.{{Cite web|date=4 February 2020|title=How strategic 'gift-giving' has sustained Hun Sen's 35-year grip on power|url=https://southeastasiaglobe.com/hun-sen-35-years-in-power/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Southeast Asia Globe|language=en-US|archive-date=8 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208121516/https://southeastasiaglobe.com/hun-sen-35-years-in-power/|url-status=live}} Hun Sen and his party formally rejected the result.{{Cite web|title=What has gone wrong in Cambodia?|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/what-has-gone-wrong-cambodia|access-date=8 December 2020|website=www.lowyinstitute.org|language=en|archive-date=8 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708195356/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/what-has-gone-wrong-cambodia|url-status=live}} With the support of much of the state apparatus, including the army and police, Hun Sen and his deputy Norodom Chakrapong threatened to lead the secession of seven provinces and CPP-backed forces committed violence against UN and FUNCINPEC forces{{Cite journal|date=27 June 2018|title=Cambodia's Dirty Dozen|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/06/27/cambodias-dirty-dozen/long-history-rights-abuses-hun-sens-generals|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en|archive-date=11 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211084840/https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/06/27/cambodias-dirty-dozen/long-history-rights-abuses-hun-sens-generals|url-status=live}} although Sen distanced himself from the secessionist movement a few days later. UNTAC and FUNCINPEC conceded a unique power sharing agreement with Hun Sen serving as Second Prime Minister alongside First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh.

{{Section empty|date=August 2024}}

{{Main|1997 Cambodian coup}}

In 1997, the coalition became unstable due to tensions between Ranariddh and Hun Sen. FUNCINPEC entered into discussions with the remaining Khmer Rouge rebels (with whom it had been allied against Hun Sen's Vietnamese-backed government during the 1980s), with the aim of absorbing them into its ranks.{{cite book|last=Kamm|first=Henry|title=Cambodia|year=1998|publisher=Arcade Publishing, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=1-55970-433-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambodiareportfr00kamm/page/237 237–240]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/cambodiareportfr00kamm/page/237}} Such a development would have altered the balance of military power between royalists and the CPP.

In response, Hun Sen launched the 1997 coup, replacing Ranariddh with Ung Huot as the First Prime Minister and maintaining his position as the Second Prime Minister.

In an open letter, Amnesty International condemned the summary execution of FUNCINPEC ministers and the "systematic campaign of arrests and harassment" of political opponents.{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA23/033/1997/en/25aeac73-e9f0-11dd-90b2-a9da8ab8e550/asa230331997en.html|title=Open letter to Second Prime Minister Hun Sen|publisher=Amnesty International|author=Secretary General Pierre Sane|date=11 July 1997|access-date=13 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316144404/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA23/033/1997/en/25aeac73-e9f0-11dd-90b2-a9da8ab8e550/asa230331997en.html|archive-date=16 March 2014}} Thomas Hammarberg, then Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia, strongly condemned the coup.

{{See also|Cabinet of Hun Sen}}

In the 1998 election, he led the CPP to victory and forming a coalition with FUNCINPEC.

The elections of July 2003 resulted in a larger majority in the National Assembly for the CPP, with FUNCINPEC losing seats to the CPP and the Sam Rainsy Party. However, the CPP's majority was short of the two thirds constitutionally required for the CPP to form a government alone. This deadlock was overcome when a new CPP-FUNCINPEC coalition was formed in mid-2004, with Norodom Ranariddh chosen to be head of the National Assembly and Hun Sen again becoming sole prime minister.

Sen has opposed extensive investigations and prosecutions related to crimes committed by former Khmer Rouge leaders by the UN-backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal.{{Cite web|date=8 November 2011|title=Cambodian Premier says No More Khmer Rouge Trials {{!}} News|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodian-premier-says-no-more-khmer-rouge-trials-105873293/129117.html|access-date=19 July 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108230947/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Cambodian-Premier-says-No-More-Khmer-Rouge-Trials-105873293.html|archive-date=8 November 2011}}

On 6 May 2013, Hun Sen declared his intention to rule Cambodia until the age of 74.{{cite news|url=http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/hun-sen-reveals-plan-to-win-3-more-elections-retire-at-age-74-22700/|title=Hun Sen Reveals Plan to Win 3 More Elections, Retire at Age 74|last=Neou|first=Vannarin|date=7 May 2013|newspaper=The Cambodia Daily|access-date=16 February 2014|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222040413/http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/hun-sen-reveals-plan-to-win-3-more-elections-retire-at-age-74-22700/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cambodia-youth-idUKBRE98500G20130906|title=As protest looms, Cambodia's strongman Hun Sen faces restive, tech-savvy youth|last=Thul|first=Prak Chan|date=6 September 2013|newspaper=Reuters UK|access-date=14 February 2014|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809223926/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cambodia-youth-idUKBRE98500G20130906|url-status=dead}}

{{Main|2013–2014 Cambodian protests}}File:CNRP protesters raise flags.jpg

After the July 2013 general elections both Hun Sen and his opponents Cambodia National Rescue Party claimed victory. In August, Hun Sen continued to pursue his aim of forming a new government.{{cite news|author=Prak Chan Thul|date=2 August 2013|title=Defiant Hun Sen says to form government despite Cambodia poll row|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-election-idUSBRE9710G920130802|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410001822/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-election-idUSBRE9710G920130802|url-status=live}} Cambodians in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, with hundreds of Buddhist Monks, peacefully protested in front of the United Nations in New York City on 19 August in opposition to Hun Sen's deployment of military and security forces in Phnom Penh, his unwillingness to share political power with opposition groups and seriously address earlier voting fraud and election irregularities.{{cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130906005612/en/Cambodia-Buddhist-Monks%E2%80%99-Rally-United-Nations-Prelude|title=Cambodia, Buddhist Monks' Rally at United Nations: Prelude to Upcoming Phnom Penh Demonstrations – Business Wire|date=6 September 2013|work=businesswire.com|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414122526/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130906005612/en/Cambodia-Buddhist-Monks%E2%80%99-Rally-United-Nations-Prelude|url-status=live}}

One person was killed and others injured during protests in Phnom Penh in September 2013, where a reported 20,000 protesters gathered, some clashing with riot police.[http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/cambodia-protest-clashes/814406.html Retrieved September 16, 2013] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926161920/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/cambodia-protest-clashes/814406.html |date=26 September 2013 }} Following two weeks of opposition protests, Hun Sen declared that he had been constitutionally elected and would not step down nor hold a new election.{{cite web|url=http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-says-he-will-not-resign-or-call-election-49554/|title=Hun Sen Says He Will Not Resign, or Call Election|first=Kuch|last=Naren|work=The Cambodia Daily|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328104431/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-says-he-will-not-resign-or-call-election-49554/|url-status=dead}}

On 7 September 2013, tens of thousands of Cambodians, along with Buddhist monks and opposition groups, including Sam Rainsy's Cambodian National Rescue Party held mass demonstrations in Phnom Penh to protest the 28 July elections results which they claimed were flawed and marred by voting irregularities and potential fraud. The groups asked the United Nations to investigate and claimed that the elections results were not free and fair.{{cite news

|url=https://news.yahoo.com/cambodia-opposition-rallies-push-poll-probe-040535958.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CecgStSo0oAt6zQtDMD

|title=Cambodia opposition rallies in push for poll probe

|agency=Reuters

|author=Thul, Prak Chan

|editor-first1=Martin

|editor-last1=Petty

|editor-first2=Michael

|editor-last2=Perry

|date=8 September 2013

|access-date=14 February 2014

|archive-date=16 October 2021

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016225040/https://news.yahoo.com/cambodia-opposition-rallies-push-poll-probe-040535958.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CecgStSo0oAt6zQtDMD

|url-status=live

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130906005612/en/Cambodia-Buddhist-Monks%E2%80%99-Rally-United-Nations-Prelude

|title=Cambodia, Buddhist Monks' Rally at United Nations: Prelude to Upcoming Phnom Penh Demonstrations

|publisher=Businesswire

|author=

|date=6 September 2013

|access-date=14 February 2014

|archive-date=14 April 2021

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414122526/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130906005612/en/Cambodia-Buddhist-Monks%E2%80%99-Rally-United-Nations-Prelude

|url-status=live

}}

On 3 January 2014, military police opened fire at protesters, killing 4 people and injuring more than 20.{{cite web|url=http://www.voacambodia.com/content/workers-police-clash-leaving-3-dead-in-cambodia/1822721.html|title=Workers, Police Clash, Leaving 3 Dead in Cambodia|publisher=VOA|date=3 January 2014|access-date=17 February 2014|archive-date=17 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317055410/http://www.voacambodia.com/content/workers-police-clash-leaving-3-dead-in-cambodia/1822721.html|url-status=live}} The United Nations and US State Department condemned the violence.{{cite web|url=https://khmer.voanews.com/a/us-state-department-condemn-violence-on-protestors-in-cambodia/1823211.html|title=សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកថ្កោលទោសការប្រើប្រាស់អំពើហិង្សានៅកម្ពុជា|work=វីអូអេ|date=4 January 2014|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305083644/http://khmer.voanews.com/content/us-state-department-condemn-violence-on-protestors-in-cambodia/1823211.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46869&Cr=protest&Cr1=|title=United Nations News Centre|date=3 January 2014|work=UN News Service Section|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=30 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730071604/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46869&Cr=protest&Cr1=|url-status=live}} US Congressman Ed Royce responded to the report of violence in Cambodia by calling for Hun Sen to step down, saying that the Cambodian people deserve a better leader.{{cite web|url=http://www.voacambodia.com/content/us-house-foreign-affairs-chair-calls-for-hun-sen-to-step-down/1824339.html|title=US House Foreign Affairs Chair Calls for Hun Sen to Step Down|first=Sok|last=Khemara|date=7 January 2014|publisher=Voice of America|access-date=17 February 2014|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323122354/http://www.voacambodia.com/content/us-house-foreign-affairs-chair-calls-for-hun-sen-to-step-down/1824339.html|url-status=live}}

File:Dmitry Medvedev and Hun Sen at 12th ASEM (1).jpg on 18 October 2018]]

File:Fumio Kishida Hun Sen 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit.jpg in Kumamoto, Japan on 23 April 2022.]]

File:President Biden met with Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia before the 2022 ASEAN Summit.jpg during the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, 12 November 2022.]]

File:Secretary Blinken Meets with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Cambodia (52261951117).jpg in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 4 August 2022]]

On 10 June 2014, Hun Sen made a public appearance and claimed he has no health problems. He warned that if he were to die prematurely, the country would spin out of control and the opposition could expect trouble from the armed forces, saying he is the only person who can control the army.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cambodian-pm-opposition-rue-death-24068866|title=Cambodian PM Says Opposition Will Rue His Death|publisher=Associated Press|date=10 June 2014|access-date=15 June 2014|archive-date=23 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623045429/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cambodian-pm-opposition-rue-death-24068866|url-status=live}}

Following Hun Sen's orders, on 31 January 2017, the National Assembly voted unanimously to abolish the Minority Leader and Majority Leader positions to lessen the opposition party's influence.{{cite news|url=https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/culture-of-dialogue-faces-official-demise-124308/|title=Culture of Dialogue Faces Official Demise|work=The Cambodia Daily|date=31 January 2017|access-date=7 February 2017|first=Naren|last=Kuch|archive-date=2 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602134829/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/culture-of-dialogue-faces-official-demise-124308/|url-status=dead}} On 2 February 2017, Hun Sen barred the opposition from questioning some of his government ministers.{{cite news |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-hun-sen-tells-ministers-ignore-cnrp-requests-appear-assembly |title=PM Hun Sen tells ministers to ignore CNRP requests to appear at assembly |work=The Phnom Penh Post |date=2 February 2017 |access-date=8 February 2017 |author1=Mech, Dara |author2=Meas, Sokchea |archive-date=4 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204170555/http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-hun-sen-tells-ministers-ignore-cnrp-requests-appear-assembly |url-status=live }} Furthermore, Hun Sen vowed a constitutional amendment which later saw the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party dissolved.{{cite news |url=https://www.cambodiadaily.com/morenews/proposed-rules-could-see-cnrp-dissolved-124527 |title=Proposed Rules Could See CNRP Dissolved |work=The Cambodia Daily |date=3 February 2017 |access-date=7 February 2017 |author1=Naren, Kouch |author2=Paviour, Ben |archive-date=6 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206013141/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/morenews/proposed-rules-could-see-cnrp-dissolved-124527/ |url-status=dead }} This move led to the surprise resignation of opposition leader Sam Rainsy.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics-idUSKBN15Q0HB |title=Cambodia opposition leader Rainsy resigns from party |work=Reuters |date=11 February 2017 |access-date=12 February 2017 |author=Prak Chan Thul |archive-date=28 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828134359/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics-idUSKBN15Q0HB |url-status=live }} The controversial law was passed on 20 February 2017, effectively granting the ruling party the right to dissolve political parties.{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-20/cambodia-changes-political-rules-in-triumph-of-dictatorship/8287662 |title=Cambodia changes political rules in 'triumph of dictatorship', critics say |work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=20 February 2017 |access-date=20 February 2017 |archive-date=21 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221011825/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-20/cambodia-changes-political-rules-in-triumph-of-dictatorship/8287662 |url-status=live }} Opposition leader Kem Sokha was later arrested for treason.

On 30 June 2018, weeks before the parliamentary elections, Hun Sen appointed his second eldest son, Hun Manet, into higher military positions. Some analysts had speculated Manet may be a future candidate for Sen's position.{{cite web|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodian-strongmans-son-assumes-powerful-military-roles|title=Cambodian strongman's son assumes powerful military roles|last=hermesauto|date=30 June 2018|website=The Straits Times|access-date=5 December 2018|archive-date=2 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702150815/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodian-strongmans-son-assumes-powerful-military-roles|url-status=live}} Hun Sen affirmed at the time that his son could become prime minister if elected rather than through direct handover, though he intends to rule until at least 2028.{{cite web|url=https://www.voacambodia.com/a/hun-sen-my-son-will-have-to-wait-ten-years-to-take-over/5245062.html|title=Hun Sen: My Son Will Have To Wait Ten Years To Take Over|first=Sun|last=Narin|work=VOA Khmer|date=14 January 2020|access-date=25 June 2020|archive-date=28 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628084516/https://www.voacambodia.com/a/hun-sen-my-son-will-have-to-wait-ten-years-to-take-over/5245062.html|url-status=live}}

The 2018 elections were dismissed as sham elections by the international community,{{cite news|date=16 November 2017|title=Supreme Court rules to dissolve CNRP|work=The Phnom Penh Post|url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/breaking-supreme-court-rules-dissolve-cnrp|access-date=16 November 2017|archive-date=29 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129045831/https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/breaking-supreme-court-rules-dissolve-cnrp|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=29 July 2018|title=Rights Groups Call Out Cambodia's 'Sham' Election|work=VOA Cambodia|publisher=Voice of America|url=https://www.voacambodia.com/a/rights-groups-call-out-cambodia-sham-election/4503007.html|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805125658/https://www.voacambodia.com/a/rights-groups-call-out-cambodia-sham-election/4503007.html|url-status=live}} the opposition party having been dissolved.

Hun Sen blocked the return of exiled Cambodia National Rescue Party leaders to Cambodia, including Sam Rainsy and Mu Sochua, in November 2019. He ordered the military to "attack" them on sight should they return,{{Cite web|title=Cambodia's PM Hun Sen Orders Military to 'Attack' Exile Opposition Leaders on Sight|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/military-10072019173702.html|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Radio Free Asia|language=en|archive-date=10 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510223015/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/military-10072019173702.html|url-status=live}} threatened airlines with legal actions for allowing them to board, deployed thousands of troops to the Thai and Vietnamese borders, and requested other ASEAN leaders arrest them and deport them to Cambodia.{{Cite web|first1=Andrew |last1=Nachemson |first2=Yon |last2=Sineat|title=Cambodia's Sam Rainsy faces hurdles as he attempts to return home|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/8/cambodias-sam-rainsy-faces-hurdles-as-he-attempts-to-return-home|access-date=8 December 2020|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en|archive-date=21 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721094159/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/8/cambodias-sam-rainsy-faces-hurdles-as-he-attempts-to-return-home|url-status=live}}

In 2020, the European Union suspended its Everything but Arms preferential trade agreement with Cambodia due to concerns over human rights violations under Hun Sen's government. Sen criticized the move as "biased" and "unfair", including at the United Nations General Assembly in 2020.{{Cite web |date=28 September 2020 |title=At U.N. Meeting, Hun Sen Blasts E.U. Trade Sanctions As "Biased and Unfair" |url=https://www.voacambodia.com/a/at-un-meeting-hun-sen-blasts-eu-trade-sanctions-as-biased-and-unfair-/5600399.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220025159/https://www.voacambodia.com/a/at-un-meeting-hun-sen-blasts-eu-trade-sanctions-as-biased-and-unfair-/5600399.html |archive-date=20 February 2022 |access-date=9 December 2020 |website=VOA |language=en}}

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hun Sen downplayed the risk of the virus and declined to introduce preventative measures or evacuate Cambodian citizens from Wuhan during the initial outbreak in China. It was widely reported this was in an attempt to show solidarity with China, one of Cambodia's closest diplomatic and economic allies. Hun Sen visited China during the outbreak and offered to visit Wuhan specifically during its lockdown. In February 2020, at a press conference, he criticized the media for sensationalizing the virus, and threatened to expel those present who were wearing masks. Hun Sen was also present to welcome passengers of the MS Westerdam cruise ship to dock in Sihanoukville, after it was turned away from other countries.{{Cite web|last=Tiezzi|first=Shannon|title=China and Cambodia: Love in the Time of Coronavirus|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/china-and-cambodia-love-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/|access-date=1 December 2020|website=thediplomat.com|language=en-US|archive-date=6 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206005246/https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/china-and-cambodia-love-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Hun Sen's Political Gamble: The Coronavirus Epidemic|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/hun-sens-political-gamble-the-coronavirus-epidemic/|access-date=1 December 2020|website=thediplomat.com|language=en-US|archive-date=26 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226082439/https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/hun-sens-political-gamble-the-coronavirus-epidemic/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Beech|first=Hannah|date=18 February 2020|title=Cambodia's Coronavirus Complacency May Exact a Global Toll|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/world/asia/coronavirus-westerdam-cambodia-hun-sen.html|access-date=1 December 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218010645/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/world/asia/coronavirus-westerdam-cambodia-hun-sen.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last1=Grundy-Warr|first1=Carl|last2=Lin|first2=Shaun|date=16 June 2020|title=COVID-19 geopolitics: silence and erasure in Cambodia and Myanmar in times of pandemic|journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics|volume=61|issue=4–5|pages=493–510|doi=10.1080/15387216.2020.1780928|s2cid=225795003 |issn=1538-7216|doi-access=}} Cambodia started implementing preventative measures and travel restrictions from March 2020 as the pandemic spread globally.{{Cite web|date=3 December 2020|title=At first Cambodians couldn't believe their COVID-19 numbers. Now they do|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-04/cambodia-handling-covid-19-community-transmission-zero-deaths/12938226|access-date=5 December 2020|website=www.abc.net.au|language=en-AU|archive-date=28 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428074537/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-04/cambodia-handling-covid-19-community-transmission-zero-deaths/12938226|url-status=live}}

A new State of Emergency Law prepared in response to COVID-19 granted Hun Sen further powers to restrict movement and assembly, seize private property and enforce quarantine. The new law has been criticised by Amnesty International for curbing human rights.{{Cite web|date=10 April 2020|title=Fears as Cambodia grants PM vast powers under Covid-19 pretext|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/10/fears-as-cambodia-grants-hun-sen-vast-power-under-covid-19-pretext|access-date=7 December 2020|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222051143/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/10/fears-as-cambodia-grants-hun-sen-vast-power-under-covid-19-pretext|url-status=live}}

Ultimately, the government's successful vaccination efforts and pandemic response were viewed by the Cambodian public as contributing to the perceived legitimacy and effectiveness of the government.{{Cite book |last=Han |first=Enze |title=The Ripple Effect: China's Complex Presence in Southeast Asia |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-769659-0 |location=New York, NY}}{{Rp|page=30}} A study conducted by IEAS found that more than 80% of those surveyed approved of the government response, with more than 25% strongly approving of the response.{{Rp|page=30}}

On 10 July 2023, Hun Sen warned Ukraine of using cluster munitions, saying "It would be the greatest danger for Ukrainians for many years or up to a hundred years if cluster bombs are used in Russian-occupied areas in the territory of Ukraine," Sen further cited his country's "painful experience" from the Vietnam War that has killed or maimed tens of thousands of Cambodians.{{cite news|title=Ukraine should shun US cluster bombs, learn from Cambodia's 'painful experience': PM Hun Sen|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3227129/ukraine-should-shun-us-cluster-bombs-learn-cambodias-painful-experience-pm-hun-sen|work=South China Morning Post|date=10 July 2023|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=26 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726000129/https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3227129/ukraine-should-shun-us-cluster-bombs-learn-cambodias-painful-experience-pm-hun-sen|url-status=live}}

Following controversy over the 23 July 2023 elections, the King confirmed that Hun Manet would succeed Hun Sen as prime minister.{{cite news |title=Cambodia: PM's son Hun Manet appointed next ruler in royal formality |work=BBC News |date=7 August 2023 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66391334 |access-date=7 August 2023}}

{{Main|Corruption in Cambodia}}

Hun Sen and his family were estimated to have amassed between US$500 million and US$1 billion by Global Witness in 2016,{{Cite web|title=Hostile Takeover|url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/reports/hostile-takeover/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Global Witness|language=en|archive-date=27 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727010205/https://www.globalwitness.org/en/reports/hostile-takeover/|url-status=live}} and a number of allies have also accumulated considerable personal wealth during his tenure.{{Cite news|title=How relatives and allies of Cambodia's leader amassed wealth overseas.|url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/cambodia-hunsen-wealth/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Reuters|language=en|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526230611/https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/cambodia-hunsen-wealth/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Hunt|first=Luke|title=How Rich Are Cambodia's Hun Sen and His Family?|url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/how-rich-are-cambodias-hun-sen-and-his-family/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=thediplomat.com|language=en-US|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108090657/https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/how-rich-are-cambodias-hun-sen-and-his-family/|url-status=live}}

File:Cambodia Protected Area and Economic Land Concessions.jpg is partly driven by Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) within protected areas.{{Cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=Kyle Frankel|last2=Yu|first2=Kailiang|last3=Rulli|first3=Maria Cristina|last4=Pichdara|first4=Lonn|last5=D'Odorico|first5=Paolo|date=October 2015|title=Accelerated deforestation driven by large-scale land acquisitions in Cambodia|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo2540|journal=Nature Geoscience|language=en|volume=8|issue=10|pages=772–775|bibcode=2015NatGe...8..772D|doi=10.1038/ngeo2540|s2cid=54814921|issn=1752-0908|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=4 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604044022/https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo2540|url-status=live}}]]

Hun Sen implemented land reform, the "leopard skin land reform", in Cambodia.{{Cite book|last=Beban|first=Alice|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv12sdwbz|title=Unwritten Rule: State-Making through Land Reform in Cambodia|date=2021|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-1-5017-5362-6|jstor=10.7591/j.ctv12sdwbz|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410162106/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv12sdwbz|url-status=live}} Hun Sen's government has been responsible for leasing 45% of the total landmass in Cambodia—primarily to foreign investors—in the years 2007–08, threatening more than 150,000 Cambodians with eviction. Parts of the concessions are protected wildlife areas or national parks and have driven deforestation across the country.{{Cite web|date=13 May 2020|title='They never intended to conserve it': Outcry as loggers gut Cambodian reserve|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/they-never-intended-to-conserve-it-outcry-as-loggers-gut-cambodian-reserve/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Mongabay Environmental News|language=en-US|archive-date=31 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231183838/https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/they-never-intended-to-conserve-it-outcry-as-loggers-gut-cambodian-reserve/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Interactive: Plundering Cambodia's forests|url=https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2019/plundering-cambodias-forests/index.html|access-date=8 December 2020|website=interactive.aljazeera.com|publisher=Al Jazeera|language=en|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108005441/https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2019/plundering-cambodias-forests/index.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2 May 2019|title=Illegal logging poised to wipe Cambodian wildlife sanctuary off the map|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/illegal-logging-poised-to-wipe-cambodian-wildlife-sanctuary-off-the-map/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Mongabay Environmental News|language=en-US|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129233923/https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/illegal-logging-poised-to-wipe-cambodian-wildlife-sanctuary-off-the-map/|url-status=live}} As of 2015, Cambodia had one of the highest rates of forest loss in the world.{{Cite web|date=10 January 2017|title=Cambodia's Forests Are Disappearing|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/89413/cambodias-forests-are-disappearing|access-date=8 December 2020|website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov|language=en|archive-date=12 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212085150/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/89413/cambodias-forests-are-disappearing|url-status=live}} The land sales have been perceived by observers as government corruption and have resulted in thousands of citizens being forcibly evicted.{{cite news|first1=Adrian|last1=Levy|first2=Cathy|last2=Scott-Clark|date=26 April 2008|title=Country for sale|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/26/cambodia|access-date=13 February 2014|archive-date=2 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902062008/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/26/cambodia|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Country For Sale|url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/reports/country-sale/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Global Witness|language=en|archive-date=4 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104095111/https://www.globalwitness.org/en/reports/country-sale/|url-status=live}} According to Alice Beban, the land reform strengthened patronage politics in Cambodia and did not enable land tenure security.

Hun Sen was implicated in corruption related to Cambodia's oil wealth and mineral resources in the Global Witness 2009 report on Cambodia. He and his close associates were accused of carrying out secret negotiations with interested private parties, taking money from those{{explain|Who is "those"? Specific company leaders? Who?|date=November 2015}} who would be granted rights to exploit the country's resources in return. The credibility of this accusation has been challenged by government officials and especially Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself.[http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/713/en/country_for_sale Country for Sale] Global Witness {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208135344/http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/713/en/country_for_sale|date=8 February 2009}}

{{See also|Human rights in Cambodia}}

Sen and the CPP were accused of orchestrating summary executions during the 1997 coup.

File:Kem Sokha with Sam Rainsy.jpg (left) was arrested in September 2017, while opposition leader Sam Rainsy (right) has lived in exile since November 2015.]]

Hun Sen frequently calls for violence against his political opponents during seemingly irrelevant public events, often characterizing this as necessary to maintain peace and stability in Cambodia. In 2017, he said he would be prepared to "eliminate 100 or 200 people if they would destabilize the peace in Cambodia" while speaking at commemoration for his defection from the Khmer Rouge.{{Cite web|last1=Seangly|first1=Phak|last2=Baliga|first2=Ananth|title=Hun Sen marks day of his Khmer Rouge defection with Vietnam border crossing|url=https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-marks-day-his-khmer-rouge-defection-vietnam-border-crossing|access-date=28 December 2020|website=www.phnompenhpost.com|language=en|archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128114758/https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-marks-day-his-khmer-rouge-defection-vietnam-border-crossing|url-status=live}} In 2019, as opposition party leaders prepared to return to the country, Sen ordered the military to "attack them wherever you see them—you don't need arrest warrants at all" while speaking at a graduation ceremony for exceptional high school students in Phnom Penh. He also threatened the European Union if they withdrew a commercial deal: "If you want the opposition dead, do it. If you want it alive, don't do it and come and talk", although they did not give in.{{cite web | url=https://www.france24.com/es/20190114-camboya-acuerdo-comercial-ue-oposicion | title=El primer ministro de Camboya amenaza con "matar" a la oposición si la UE lo sanciona | date=14 January 2019 | access-date=27 July 2023 | archive-date=9 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409232452/https://www.france24.com/es/20190114-camboya-acuerdo-comercial-ue-oposicion | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/internacional/2019/01/14/hun-sen-amenaza-con-matar-oposicion-si-sanciona-camboya-1287098-306.html | title=Hun Sen amenaza con matar a la oposición si la UE sanciona a Camboya | date=14 January 2019 | access-date=27 July 2023 | archive-date=2 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602090117/https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/internacional/2019/01/14/hun-sen-amenaza-con-matar-oposicion-si-sanciona-camboya-1287098-306.html | url-status=live }} "We didn't pursue you because we didn't want to kill you at the time," Hun Sen said to opposition leader Sam Rainsy,{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/sorry-11292018161515.html|title=Cambodia's Hun Sen 'Sorry' He Hadn't Killed Protest Leaders|work=Radio Free Asia|date=29 November 2018|access-date=29 September 2022|archive-date=21 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121000541/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/sorry-11292018161515.html|url-status=live}} although such death threats have not been implemented.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has banned public gatherings, driven opposition supporters from the site of former protest meetings 'Freedom Park', and deployed riot police to beat protesters and detain union leaders.{{cite news|title=Labour activism in Cambodia|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/06/labour-activism-cambodia|access-date=5 June 2014|newspaper=The Economist|date=4 June 2014|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331215913/http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/06/labour-activism-cambodia|url-status=live}}

Several Australian politicians, most prominently Gareth Evans and Julian Hill, have been highly critical of Sen and his government over human rights issues and have called for changes to Australia–Cambodia relations.{{Cite web|title=Cambodia's Authoritarian Regime Rejected on Australian Soil – AIIA|url=https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/cambodias-authoritarian-regime-rejected-australian-soil/|access-date=12 December 2020|website=Australian Institute of International Affairs|language=en-US|archive-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918045013/https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/cambodias-authoritarian-regime-rejected-australian-soil/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Ek|first=Sawathey|date=10 December 2018|title=Hun Sen's violent obsessions finally unmasked|url=https://asiatimes.com/2018/12/hun-sens-violent-obsessions-finally-unmasked/|access-date=12 December 2020|website=Asia Times|language=en-US|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024010319/https://asiatimes.com/2018/12/hun-sens-violent-obsessions-finally-unmasked/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Gareth Evans, a Pillar of the Paris Peace Accords, on "Seeking Justice in Cambodia"|url=https://www.voacambodia.com/a/gareth-evans-a-pillar-of-the-paris-peace-accords-on-seeking-justice-in-cambodia/4796311.html|access-date=24 April 2021|website=VOA|date=21 February 2019|language=en|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424012207/https://www.voacambodia.com/a/gareth-evans-a-pillar-of-the-paris-peace-accords-on-seeking-justice-in-cambodia/4796311.html|url-status=live}}

After the execution of 4 prisoners in July 2022 in Myanmar, Hun Sen warned to rethink the peace agreement if the regime continued to execute prisoners.{{cite web | url=https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-asean-dice-podria-repensar-acuerdo-paz-birmania-si-junta-militar-sigue-ejecutando-prisioneros-20220803221650.html | title=La ASEAN dice que podría repensar el acuerdo de paz con Birmania si la junta militar sigue ejecutando prisioneros | date=3 August 2022 | access-date=27 July 2023 | archive-date=4 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804081759/https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-asean-dice-podria-repensar-acuerdo-paz-birmania-si-junta-militar-sigue-ejecutando-prisioneros-20220803221650.html | url-status=live }}

{{Expand section|date=September 2023}}

Sen has frequently criticized Western powers such as the European Union and United States in response to their sanctions on Cambodia over human rights issues.{{Cite news |date=11 October 2017 |title=Cambodia's Hun Sen renews criticism of United States amid escalating row |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cambodia-politics-idUKKBN1CG0RC |url-status=dead |access-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516150123/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cambodia-politics-idUKKBN1CG0RC |archive-date=16 May 2020}}

{{Main|Cambodia–China relations|Ream Naval Base|}}

Sen strengthened a close diplomatic and economic relationship with China, which has undertaken large-scale infrastructure projects and investments in Cambodia under the Belt and Road Initiative.{{Cite news |last=Thul |first=Prak Chan |date=12 October 2020 |title=China, Cambodia clinch free trade pact in under a year |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-cambodia-fta-idUKKBN26X0XB |url-status=dead |access-date=10 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115093522/https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-cambodia-fta-idUKKBN26X0XB |archive-date=15 November 2020}}{{Cite web |last=Welle (www.dw.com) |first=Deutsche |title=How Chinese money is changing Cambodia {{!}} DW {{!}} 22 August 2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/how-chinese-money-is-changing-cambodia/a-50130240 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624101808/https://www.dw.com/en/how-chinese-money-is-changing-cambodia/a-50130240 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |access-date=10 December 2020 |website=DW.COM |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last1=Peel |first1=Michael |last2=Kynge |first2=James |last3=Haddou |first3=Leila |date=8 September 2016 |title=FT Investigation: How China bought its way into Cambodia |url=https://www.ft.com/content/23968248-43a0-11e6-b22f-79eb4891c97d |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/23968248-43a0-11e6-b22f-79eb4891c97d |archive-date=10 December 2022 |access-date=10 December 2020 |website=www.ft.com |language=en-GB}}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, China provided major assistance to the Hun Sen government's vaccination campaign.{{Rp|page=29}} As of early November 2021, China had sent more than 35 million vaccines to Cambodia.{{Rp|page=29}} China provided many of them free of charge.{{Rp|page=29}} Vaccines provided by China accounted for more than 90% of total vaccines provided to Cambodia from other countries.{{Rp|page=29}} China also provided other health care supplies as well as medical professionals to Cambodia during the pandemic.{{Rp|page=30}} In part thanks to Chinese contributions, Cambodia had the second-highest vaccination rate in Southeast Asia, despite having the second lowest per capita GDP in the region.{{Rp|page=30}}

{{Main|Cambodia–Thailand relations}}

Sen oversaw a number of diplomatic disputes with neighboring Thailand.{{cite news |date=11 November 2013 |title=UN court awards Cambodia sovereignty in border dispute |language=en |website=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/un-court-cambodia-thailand-border-dispute |url-status=live |access-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629165846/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/un-court-cambodia-thailand-border-dispute |archive-date=29 June 2021}}{{Cite web |date=31 January 2003 |title=Thais cut links with Cambodia after riots |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/31/cambodia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827175456/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/31/cambodia |archive-date=27 August 2021 |access-date=12 December 2020 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}

The 2003 Phnom Penh riots resulted in the ransacking of the Thai embassy in Cambodia, following false allegations that a Thai soap opera actress Suvanant Punnakant claimed that Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand. Sen called for a boycott of Thai goods and television shows and criticized the actress shortly before the riots. The riots and Sen's response severely damaged Cambodia–Thailand relations. Sen's Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra closed the borders, expelled the Cambodian ambassador and evacuated Thai citizens from Phnom Penh in response. Thaksin also sent a warning to Hun Sen after witness reports suggested the army and police had not intervened until the embassy was destroyed. Sam Rainsy accused Sen of inciting the riot.{{Cite web |title=CNN.com – Cambodian 'incompetence' in anti-Thai riots – Feb. 3, 2003 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/02/03/thai.cambodia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705110928/https://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/02/03/thai.cambodia/ |archive-date=5 July 2022 |access-date=12 December 2020 |website=CNN}}

From 2008 to 2013, the Cambodian–Thai border dispute was an ongoing conflict, which on a number of occasions led to fighting between Cambodian and Thai forces. Sen and Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva negotiated a de-escalation on several occasions with the encouragement of ASEAN.{{Cite web |date=10 May 2011 |title=Thai-Cambodian Border Dispute Fueled by Nationalism, Politics |url=https://www.voacambodia.com/a/thai-cambodian-border-dispute-fueled-by-nationalism-politics-121562849/1358466.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412183605/https://www.voacambodia.com/a/thai-cambodian-border-dispute-fueled-by-nationalism-politics-121562849/1358466.html |archive-date=12 April 2021 |access-date=12 December 2020 |website=VOA |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=8 May 2011 |title=Thailand and Cambodia border talks fail at Asean summit |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13319952 |url-status=live |access-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908153252/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13319952 |archive-date=8 September 2021}} Cambodia was granted sovereignty over the Preah Vihear Temple area by a UN court in 2013, ending the dispute.

{{See|Cambodia-Myanmar relations}}

File:2021 Special ASEAN Summit on Myanmar's coup d'état (1).jpg on Myanmar with Joko Widodo.]]

In his capacity as chairman of ASEAN, Sen became the first foreign leader to visit Myanmar following the 2021 coup d'état.{{Cite web |last=Nachemson |first=Andrew |title=Misreading the room: Why Hun Sen is failing on Myanmar |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/30/misreading-the-room-why-hun-sen-is-failing-on-myanmar |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2022-01-08 |title=Cambodia to take 'different approaches' to Myanmar crisis as ASEAN chair |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodia-take-different-approaches-myanmar-crisis-asean-chair-2022-01-08/ |access-date=2023-09-26}}

{{Main|Cambodia–United States relations}}

In November 2016, Hun Sen publicly endorsed US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who went on to be elected president.{{cite news |date=4 November 2016 |title=Hun Sen Endorses Trump—For World Peace |work=The Cambodia Daily |url=https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-endorses-trump-world-peace-120175 |url-status=dead |access-date=8 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909012346/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-endorses-trump-world-peace-120175/ |archive-date=9 September 2017}}

File:240604-D-TT977-1141 (53769050950).jpg in Phnom Penh, 4 June 2024.]]

The Cambodian People's Party claimed an expected landslide victory in the 2024 Senate election, paving the way for Hun Sen to become its president when the new Senate convenes.{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/senate-president-election-hun-sen-manet-c8613f0cc226f938f3e09b28e65a565e|title=Cambodia's ruling party wins Senate election, paving the way for Hun Sen to act as its president|work=Associated Press|date=27 February 2024|accessdate=31 March 2024}} He resigned from his National Assembly seat on 2 April, allowing him to take his seat in the Senate.{{Cite web|url=https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501466110/hun-sen-bids-farewell-to-na/|title=Hun Sen bids farewell to NA|work=Khmer Times|date=2 April 2024|accessdate=2 April 2024}} The full Senate unanimously confirmed him as president on 3 April.{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240403-cambodia-ex-leader-hun-sen-unanimously-voted-senate-president|title=Cambodia's ex-leader Hun Sen unanimously voted in as senate president|work=France 24|date=3 April 2024|accessdate=3 April 2024}}

In Cambodia, Hun Sen's core support base is from the majority of the population who reside in the countryside and work in the agricultural sector. He is less popular in urban centers like Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen's leadership has received criticism from various organizations, media and foreign governments for corruption, cronyism, environmental degradation, human rights violations and violence. Hun Sen and his government was described by former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew in 2000 as "utterly merciless and ruthless, without humane feelings".{{Cite web|last=Evans|first=Gareth|date=2014-02-26|title=Cambodia's Violent Peace {{!}} by Gareth Evans|url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/gareth-evans-examines-the-causes-of-ongoing-political-violence-since-the-1991-paris-peace-agreements|access-date=2020-12-12|website=Project Syndicate|language=en}}

{{See also|Cambodia–Vietnam relations}}

Some political opponents of Hun Sen have criticized him for alleged ties to Vietnam.{{cite news|last=Shenon|first=Philip|date=15 November 1991|title=Joyous Sihanouk Returns to Cambodia From Exile|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/15/world/joyous-sihanouk-returns-to-cambodia-from-exile.html|access-date=19 October 2013}} Norodom Sihanouk once referred to him as a "one-eyed lackey of the Vietnamese", with Sam Rainsy and members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party later echoing similar sentiments during the 2010s.{{Cite web|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|title=Cambodia's opposition leader plays racist card {{!}} DW {{!}} 5 March 2014|url=https://www.dw.com/en/cambodias-opposition-leader-plays-racist-card/a-17477112|access-date=12 December 2020|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|last=Sokha|first=Touch|title=Hun Sen touts relationship with Vietnam|url=https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-touts-relationship-vietnam|access-date=28 December 2020|website=www.phnompenhpost.com|language=en}} This is due to his position in the puppet government installed by Vietnam and prominence in figure in the People's Revolutionary Party of Kampuchea. Anti-Vietnamese sentiment and racism is common in Cambodia.

Although Cambodia had relatively independent press during and immediately following the UNTAC era, Hun Sen and the CPP have since come to strictly control media in Cambodia.{{Cite magazine|title=Sale of Cambodian Newspaper Puts Press Freedom in Peril|url=https://time.com/5269047/cambodia-phnom-penh-post-newspaper/|access-date=9 December 2020|magazine=Time}} This has more recently encompassed social media, which surpassed traditional media as a news source for Cambodians in 2017.{{Cite news|date=31 October 2017|title=What a Facebook experiment did to news in Cambodia|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41801071|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=20 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820111341/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41801071|url-status=live}}

Bayon Television is owned and operated by Hun Mana, Hun Sen's eldest daughter. {{ill|Apsara TV|fr}} is joint-owned by Say Sam Al, CPP Minister of Environment and son of Say Chhum, CPP secretary and the son of CPP Deputy Prime Minister Sok An. CTN, CNC and MyTV are all owned by Khmer-Chinese tycoon, Kith Meng.{{cite web|url=http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/oppositions-demand-for-tv-access-crucial-futile-44423|title=Opposition's Demand for TV Access Crucial, Futile – The Cambodia Daily|first=Alex|last=Willemyns|work=The Cambodia Daily|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904131636/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/oppositions-demand-for-tv-access-crucial-futile-44423/|url-status=dead}}

CPP officials claim that there is no connection between the TV stations and the state. However, CPP lawmaker and official spokesman Cheam Yeap once stated "We pay for that television [coverage] by buying broadcasting hours to show our achievements".{{cite web|url=http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/cnrp-launches-online-tv-to-break-cpps-media-stranglehold-46710/|title=CNRP Launches Online TV to Break CPP's Media Stranglehold|first=Kuch|last=Naren|work=The Cambodia Daily|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=8 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908231500/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/cnrp-launches-online-tv-to-break-cpps-media-stranglehold-46710/|url-status=dead}}

A demand for television and radio licenses was one of 10 opposition requests adopted by the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) at its "People's Congress" in October 2013.{{cite news|last=Ponniah|first=Kevin|title=CNRP has view to TV licence|url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cnrp-has-view-tv-licence|access-date=14 November 2013|newspaper=The Phnom Penh Post|date=7 November 2013|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023234922/https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cnrp-has-view-tv-licence|url-status=live}}

Radio stations were banned from broadcasting Voice of America and Radio Free Asia in August 2017. The country's most prominent independent newspaper Cambodia Daily was closed on 4 September 2017, a day after the main opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested for treason.[https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21728665-opposition-leader-arrested-and-newspaper-closed-cambodias-government-preparing Closing Time] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215041919/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21728665-opposition-leader-arrested-and-newspaper-closed-cambodias-government-preparing |date=15 February 2018 }}, The Economist, September ninth-15th, 2017, pp. 45–46. The Phnom Penh Post, another widely circulated independent newspaper, was sold to a Malaysian investor with ties to Hun Sen in 2018, which undermined its independence and aligned it closer to the government.{{Cite web|last=Riley|first=Charles|date=7 May 2018|title='Press freedom toppled': Phnom Penh Post sale rings alarm bells|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/07/media/cambodia-phnom-penh-post-press-freedom/index.html|access-date=9 December 2020|website=CNNMoney|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926234011/https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/07/media/cambodia-phnom-penh-post-press-freedom/index.html|url-status=live}}

Facebook and the internet became widely used in Cambodia during the 2010s. It is thought that its adoption by the Cambodia National Rescue Party played a role in the party's gains in the 2013 election.

In the mid-2010s, Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party became enthusiastic users of Facebook. Hun Sen declared in February 2016 they had become an "electronic government" and regularly posted and livestreams of speeches, announcements, and selfies to million of followers.{{Cite web|title=Cambodia's Facebooker-in-Chief|url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/08/cambodias-facebooker-in-chief/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=thediplomat.com|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108091823/https://thediplomat.com/2016/08/cambodias-facebooker-in-chief/|url-status=live}} In 2017, Hun Sen's official page was the eighth-most liked Facebook page of any world leader and as of December 2020 was the most liked Facebook page in Cambodia.{{Cite web|last=Socialbakers|title=Most popular Facebook pages in Cambodia|url=https://www.socialbakers.com/statistics/facebook/pages/total/cambodia|access-date=8 December 2020|website=Socialbakers.com|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513212946/https://www.socialbakers.com/statistics/facebook/pages/total/cambodia|url-status=live}}

Facebook activity in Cambodia is monitored by the authorities, and criticism of the government and prime minister on Facebook has led to several arrests in the country.{{Cite web|title=Cambodia Convicts Journalist for Criticizing Hun Sen|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/press-freedom_cambodia-convicts-journalist-criticizing-hun-sen/6198454.html|access-date=9 December 2020|website=Voice of America|date=16 November 2020|archive-date=30 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130004842/https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/cambodia-convicts-journalist-criticizing-hun-sen|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Cambodia Takes Aim at Critics Who Post on Facebook|url=https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/cambodia-takes-aim-critics-who-post-facebook|access-date=9 December 2020|website=Voice of America|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202204850/https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/cambodia-takes-aim-critics-who-post-facebook|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|date=13 November 2020|title=Cambodia: Scrap Draft Cybercrime Law|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/13/cambodia-scrap-draft-cybercrime-law|access-date=9 December 2020|website=Human Rights Watch|archive-date=6 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206015135/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/13/cambodia-scrap-draft-cybercrime-law|url-status=live}} Cambodia has also prosecuted women who post images of themselves wearing revealing clothing on Facebook, with Hun Sen saying it is "a violation of culture and tradition" and invites sexual harassment.{{Cite news|last=Blomberg|first=Matt|date=19 February 2020|title=Cover up or be censored: Cambodia orders women not look sexy on Facebook|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-women-internet-trfn-idUSKBN20D278|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=4 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504174447/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-women-internet-trfn-idUSKBN20D278|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Blomberg|first=Matt|date=24 April 2020|title=Cambodian Facebook vendor gets six months prison for 'pornographic' adverts|work=Reuters|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-women-cambodia-facebook-trfn-idUSKCN226240|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=27 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727010905/https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=uk|url-status=dead}} Amnesty International criticized this speech, characterizing it as "victim blaming" and contributing to violence against women.{{Cite web|title=Cambodia: PM's threats against women Facebook users irresponsible and dangerous|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/02/cambodia-pms-threats-against-women-facebook-users-irresponsible-and-dangerous/|access-date=9 December 2020|website=www.amnesty.org|date=19 February 2020|archive-date=22 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022195339/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/02/cambodia-pms-threats-against-women-facebook-users-irresponsible-and-dangerous/|url-status=live}}

On 29 June 2023, Hun Sen deleted his Facebook account, which had approximately 14 million followers, hours after [https://oversightboard.com/news/656303619335474-oversight-board-overturns-meta-s-decision-in-cambodian-prime-minister-case/ Meta's oversight board] ruled that he should face a six-month ban from the platform over a video post in which he threatened to have opponents beaten.{{Cite web |title=Cambodian PM Hun Sen deletes Facebook page after criticism |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Hun-Sen-s-Cambodia/Cambodian-PM-Hun-Sen-deletes-Facebook-page-after-criticism |access-date=30 June 2023 |website=Nikkei Asia |archive-date=29 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629212329/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Hun-Sen-s-Cambodia/Cambodian-PM-Hun-Sen-deletes-Facebook-page-after-criticism |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=29 June 2023 |title=Cambodia PM ditches Facebook as Meta mulls case over alleged threats |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodia-pm-ditches-facebook-meta-mulls-case-over-alleged-threats-2023-06-29/ |access-date=30 June 2023 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630101000/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodia-pm-ditches-facebook-meta-mulls-case-over-alleged-threats-2023-06-29/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Ives |first1=Mike |last2=Narin |first2=Sun |date=30 June 2023 |title=Cambodian Ruler's Facebook Account Goes Dark After Spat With Meta |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/30/world/asia/cambodia-hun-sen-meta-facebook.html |access-date=30 June 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630093850/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/30/world/asia/cambodia-hun-sen-meta-facebook.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Roeloffs |first=Mary Whitfill |title=Oversight Board Wants to Ban Cambodia's Prime Minister from Facebook and Instagram – Here's Why |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/06/29/oversight-board-wants-to-ban-cambodias-prime-minister-from-facebook-and-instagramheres-why/ |access-date=1 July 2023 |website=Forbes |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630175410/https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/06/29/oversight-board-wants-to-ban-cambodias-prime-minister-from-facebook-and-instagramheres-why/ |url-status=live }} On the following day, 30 June 2023, the Cambodian Ministry of Post and Telecommunications announced they would deport a Meta representative immediately and Cambodia would cease all cooperation with the company, attributing the move to an abundance of fake accounts, data risks, and lack of transparency.{{Cite news |date=1 July 2023 |title=Cambodia's Hun Sen kicks off campaign for virtually unopposed election |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodias-hun-sen-kicks-off-campaign-virtually-unopposed-election-2023-07-01/ |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701065511/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodias-hun-sen-kicks-off-campaign-virtually-unopposed-election-2023-07-01/ |url-status=live }} On 4 July 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that all of Meta's Oversight Board's 22 members were "persona non-grata", barring them from entering the country because "[t]he recommendation of the Oversight Board to Meta Platforms Inc. to temporarily suspend the official Facebook page belonging to Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen is political in nature. It intends to obstruct the freedom of the press for the citizens of Cambodia and the right to receive credible news from a leader whom they support and admire."{{Cite web |last=Samath |first=Kao |date=4 July 2023 |title=Top News: Cambodia Releases Statement of Persona Non Grata to 22 Members of the Oversight Board of Meta Platform Inc; Deadline Is in 48 Hours |url=http://en.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/en/localnews/37964-2023-07-04-10-32-06.html |access-date=4 July 2023 |website=Fresh News|archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705234748/https://en.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/en/localnews/37964-2023-07-04-10-32-06.html |url-status=live }}

File:The Vice President, Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari and Smt. Salma Ansasri with the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Mr. Hun Sen at the ceremonial reception, at Peace Palace, in Phonm Penh, Cambodia on September 16, 2015.jpg at the ceremonial reception of the then Vice President of India at Peace Palace, Phnom Penh]]

Hun Sen is married to Bun Rany. They have 6 children, including one adopted daughter: Kamsot (deceased), Manet, Mana, Manith, Mani and Mali. The couple also adopted a daughter (who is not named in news media sources) in 1988, but they legally disowned her in 2007 for being lesbian.{{Cite news |date=31 October 2007 |title=Cambodia PM slammed for disowning lesbian daughter |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-lesbian-idUSBKK11415620071031 |access-date=9 December 2020 |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507082151/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-lesbian-idUSBKK11415620071031 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|date=30 October 2007|title=Cambodian PM cuts ties with gay daughter|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/cambodian-pm-cuts-ties-with-gay-daughter-20071031-gdrh1p.html|access-date=9 December 2020|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412142550/https://www.smh.com.au/world/cambodian-pm-cuts-ties-with-gay-daughter-20071031-gdrh1p.html|url-status=live}} In 2010, Manet was promoted Major General in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and became the Deputy Commander of the Prime Minister's Body Guard headquarters. All three of Hun Sen's sons play big roles in his government.{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21581773-united-opposition-takes-aim-one-asias-strongest-ruling-parties-not-quite-usual-walkover|title=Not quite the usual walkover|newspaper=The Economist|date=13 July 2013|access-date=27 July 2023|archive-date=13 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113093141/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21581773-united-opposition-takes-aim-one-asias-strongest-ruling-parties-not-quite-usual-walkover|url-status=live}} His older brother, Hun Neng, was a governor of Kampong Cham and a member of parliament.

Hun Sen is fluent in Vietnamese, in addition to his native Khmer. Hun Sen also speaks some English after beginning to learn the language in the 1990s, but usually converses in Khmer through interpreters when giving formal interviews to the English-speaking media.Harish C. Mehta (1999), p. 15, 301

Hun Sen is blind in one eye because of an injury he sustained during the 1975 fall of Phnom Penh while fighting for the Khmer Rouge.[http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/premier-fed-insensitive-remarks-about-eye Premier fed up with insensitive remarks about eye] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819010911/https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/premier-fed-insensitive-remarks-about-eye |date=19 August 2018 }}, by Vong Sokheng, in the Phnom Penh Post; published 23 December 2015; retrieved 30 September 2017 He is fitted with a Japanese made artificial eye, which is regularly replaced by Japanese doctors.{{Cite news|url= https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2136983/one-eyed-hun-sen-likes-his-japanese-contact-lens-very-much|title= One-eyed Hun Sen likes his Japanese contact lens very much|work=Kyodo|date=2018-03-13}}

Hun Sen is a Buddhist. He has made major donations for the renovation of numerous pagodas, including Wat Vihear Suor.{{Cite conference|last=Bertrand|first=Didier|title=Khmer Studies: Knowledge of the Past and Its Contributions to the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Cambodia |conference=Proceedings of the International Conference on Khmer Studies, Phnom Penh, 26–30 August 1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMeAAQAACAAJ|collaboration=Sorn Samnang|year=1998|volume=II|location=Phnom Penh|publisher=Royal University of Phnom Penh; Sophia University|chapter=Le role social et thérapeutique des mediums cambodgiens|page=1119}}

Until June 2022, Hun Sen has used 4 April 1951 as his legal birthdate even if he was actually born on 5 August 1952.{{cite news |last1=Sirivadh |first1=Hun |title=PM Hun Sen Confirms Change of Birth Date to Avoid Confusion |url=https://eacnews.asia/home/details/13500 |access-date=14 May 2023 |work=EAC News |date=23 June 2022 |language=en |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514073530/https://eacnews.asia/home/details/13500 |url-status=live }} He had it changed due to a Cambodian superstition relating to having wrong legal birthdates causing conflict with the Chinese zodiac. A lot of Cambodians use two birthdates due to losing their birth certificates during the Khmer Rouge era of the 1970s. Hun Sen had it changed for believing the death of his brother in May 2022 due to a cardiac arrest was related to this superstition since he also had an incorrect birth date.{{cite news |title=Zodiac superstition leads Cambodia leader to change date of birth |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/classified-odd/05/17/22/zodiac-superstition-leads-cambodia-leader-to-change-date-of-birth |access-date=14 May 2023 |work=ABS-CBN News |publisher=Kyodo News |date=17 May 2022 |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514073527/https://news.abs-cbn.com/classified-odd/05/17/22/zodiac-superstition-leads-cambodia-leader-to-change-date-of-birth |url-status=live }}

National Orders:

• 70px Grand Order of National Merit (1996)
• 70x70px Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia
• 70x70px Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sowathara
• 70x70px Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Monisaraphon
• 70x70px Sena Jayaseddh Medal
• 70x70px Medal of National Defense, with 2 gold stars
• 70x70px Medal of National Defense, with 2 silver stars
• 70x70px Medal of National Defense, with 2 bronze stars
• 70x70px Medal of Labour
• 70x70px National Construction Decoration

Foreign Orders:

• Brunei:
• 70px Recipient of the Sultan of Brunei Golden Jubilee Medal (2017){{cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/288255/agong-attends-sultan-bruneis-golden-jubilee-royal-banquet|title=Agong attends Sultan of Brunei's Golden Jubilee royal banquet|work=New Straits Times|date=6 October 2017|access-date=29 September 2022}}
• Cuba:
• 70px Recipients of the Order of José Martí (1999)[https://forum.faleristika.info/viewtopic.php?t=17230#p348924 Орден "Хосе Maрти" – Forum FALERISTIKA.info]
• Laos:
• 70px Gold Medal of the Nation (2008){{Cite web|author=David Fay|title=National Gold Medal|url=http://www.indochinamedals.com/lpdr/lp01_national_gold_medal.html|access-date=19 March 2014|language=en}}
• 70px Order of Phoxay Lane Xang (2023){{cite web|url=https://www.aseanall.com/news/668.html|title=Lao President receives Cambodian PM and awards Phoxay Lanexang medal|work=AseanAll|date=17 February 2023|access-date=26 August 2024}}
• Philippines:
• 70px Grand Cross (Datu) of the Order of Sikatuna
• Russia:
• 65px Recipients of the Order of Friendship (2021)[http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001202107250001?index=16&rangeSize=1 Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 25 июля 2021 года № 434 «О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации»]
• Thailand:
• 70px Knight Special Grand Cordon of the Order of the White Elephant (2001)ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, [https://web.archive.org/web/20181030170521/http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/00027090.PDF ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ให้แก่ชาวต่างประเทศ.] เล่ม ๑๑๘, ตอน ๒ ข, ๓๐ พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๔
• Ukraine:
• 70px Member 3rd Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Awarded by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 30 December 2022)[https://president.gov.ua/documents/9022022-45493 Указ Президента Украины от 30 декабря 2022 года № 902/2022 «О награждении государственными наградами Украины»]

{{Portal|Cambodia|Biography}}

• Modern Cambodia
• Politics of Cambodia
• People's Republic of Kampuchea
• Kleptocracy
• Corruption

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Further||Foreign relations of Cambodia#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}}
• Chandler, David. The Tragedy of Cambodian History: Politics, War, and Revolution since 1945 (Yale UP, 1991)
• Ciorciari, John D. "Cambodia in 2019: Backing Further into a Corner." Asian Survey 60.1 (2020): 125–131. [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~johncior/files/2020%20(Cambodia%20in%202019).pdf online]
• Deth, Sok Udom, and Serkan Bulut, eds. Cambodia's Foreign Relations in Regional and Global Contexts (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2017; comprehensive coverage) [http://www.academia.edu/download/55582662/Cambodias_Foreign_Relations.pdf full book online free]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}.
• Path Kosal, "Introduction: Cambodia's Political History and Foreign Relations, 1945–1998" pp 1–26
• Harish C. Mehta and Julie B. Mehta. 1999. Hun Sen: Strongman of Cambodia. Singapore: Graham Brash Pte Ltd. {{ISBN|981-218-074-5}}
• Peou, Sorpong. "Cambodia in 2018: a year of setbacks and successes." Southeast Asian Affairs 2019.1 (2019): 104–119. [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/722676/summary online]
• Strangio, Sebastian. Cambodia: From Pol Pot to Hun Sen and Beyond (2020)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071024155400/http://www.cnv.org.kh/personInfo/biography_of_hun_sen.htm Biography of Hun Sen] [http://www.cnv.org.kh/ Cambodia New Vision ~ newsletter of cabinet of Cambodia's Prime Ministerial office]
• Alain Forest (2008), Cambodge contemporain, Indes Savantes, {{ISBN|2846541930}} {{in lang|fr}}

• {{Commons category-inline }}

{{s-start}}

{{s-off}}

{{s-bef|before=Chan Sy}}

{{s-ttl|title=Prime Minister of Cambodia|years=1985–1993}}

{{s-aft|after=Norodom Ranariddh}}

|-

{{s-new|office}}

{{s-ttl|title=Second Prime Minister of Cambodia
Served alongside: Norodom Ranariddh, Ung Huot|years=1993–1998}}

{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Ung Huot}}

{{s-ttl|title=Prime Minister of Cambodia|years=1998–2023}}

{{s-aft|after=Hun Manet}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Kong Korm}}

{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Foreign Affairs|years=1987–1990}}

{{s-aft|after=Hor Namhong}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Ieng Sary}}

{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Foreign Affairs|years=1979–1986}}

{{s-aft|after=Kong Korm}}

|-

{{s-ppo}}

{{s-bef|before=Chea Sim}}

{{s-ttl|title=President of the Cambodian People's Party|years=2015–present}}

{{s-inc}}

|-

{{s-ppo}}

{{s-bef|before=Chea Sim}}

{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the Cambodian People's Party|years=1985–present}}

{{s-inc}}

|-

{{s-dip}}

{{s-bef|before=Hassanal Bolkiah}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of ASEAN|years=2002}}

{{s-aft|after=Megawati Sukarnoputri}}

{{s-bef|before=Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of ASEAN|years=2012}}

{{s-aft|after=Hassanal Bolkiah}}

{{s-bef|before=Hassanal Bolkiah}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of ASEAN|years=2022}}

{{s-aft|after=Joko Widodo}}

{{s-end}}

{{CambodianLeaders}}

{{Cabinet of Cambodia}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hun, Sen}}

Category:1952 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century Cambodian politicians

Category:21st-century Cambodian politicians

Category:Cambodian Buddhists

Category:Cambodian generals

Category:Cambodian nationalists

Category:Cambodian People's Party politicians

Category:Cambodian politicians of Chinese descent

Category:Cambodian politicians with disabilities

Category:Cambodian revolutionaries

Category:Cambodian Theravada Buddhists

Category:Foreign ministers of Cambodia

Category:Khmer Rouge party members

Category:Leaders who took power by coup

Category:Members of the National Assembly (Cambodia)

Category:Members of the Senate (Cambodia)

Category:People of the Vietnam War

Category:People from Kampong Cham province

Category:People's Republic of Kampuchea

Category:Presidents of the Senate (Cambodia)

Category:Prime ministers of Cambodia

Category:Deputy prime ministers of Cambodia

Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 3rd class

Category:Former Marxists

Category:Leaders of political parties