Cambodia's new National Assembly on August 22 approved General Hun Manet as the country's new prime minister, completing a historic transfer of power in the rapidly changing Southeast Asian nation led by his father, Hun Sen, for nearly four decades.
After the general election in July, Mr. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won an overwhelming victory, with 120 out of 125 seats in the House of Representatives.
In the first session on August 22, the 7th Cambodian National Assembly, with 123 members present, voted to approve Mr. Hun Manet, 45 years old, and the new Cabinet led by him.
“Today is a historic day for Cambodia,” Hun Manet told lawmakers after the vote, according to AFP. Hun Manet and his new cabinet are expected to be sworn in on August 22.
His cabinet includes 10 deputy prime ministers as well as 40 ministers, most of whom are “new blood” from the ruling CPP. For example, Mr. Tea Seiha will replace his father, Tea Banh, as Cambodia’s defense minister, and Mr. Sar Sokha will replace his father, Sar Kheng, as Cambodia’s interior minister, and both will also serve as deputy prime ministers.
Mr. Hun Sen registers at the registration desk before attending a session at the National Assembly Hall in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, August 22, 2023. Photo: ABC News
Hun Manet, born in 1977, is the eldest of Hun Sen's five children. He grew up in Phnom Penh and joined the Cambodian military in 1995, then studied at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom. He was the first Cambodian to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1999. He then earned a Master's degree in economics from New York University (USA) in 2002 and a PhD in economics from the University of Bristol (UK) in 2008.
In parallel, he gradually rose through the ranks of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. Before being appointed as the country's new Prime Minister, he was a four-star General serving as Army Commander and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Army.
The first months of Hun Manet’s government will be watched closely by major powers to learn more about the new Cambodian prime minister’s approach, whether he favors a more liberal approach and improves the Southeast Asian nation’s strained relations with the West, or plans to maintain the foreign policy status quo and remain within China’s sphere of influence.
There is little to reveal about Mr Hun Manet’s vision for Cambodia, a country of 16 million people, few of whom have ever lived under the leadership of a leader other than Mr Hun Sen.
Mr Hun Sen, Cambodia's leader since 1985, has pledged to stay involved in politics in other roles for at least another decade .
Minh Duc (According to Reuters, AP, Khmer Times)
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