Cambodian prime minister’s son promoted to successor

Phnom Penh – Cambodian Army Chief Hun Manet, widely expected to succeed his father as prime minister later this year, was promoted to the country’s highest military rank on Thursday.

71-year-old Prime Minister Hun Sen has explicitly declared his support for the succession of U.S. Military Academy-trained Hun Mane through constitutional means in December 2021. . Mid-March, Hun Sen strongly hinted at his intention to resign When a new government took office after the general election in July.

“Now we have found a younger generation to replace us. We should hand over to them and stay behind them,” Hun Sen said at the time.

Hung Mane, 45, was promoted from three-star lieutenant general to four-star general in a ceremony attended by about 1,000 senior officers at the Ministry of Defense in the capital Phnom Penh.

He was officially promoted by King Norodom Sihamoni in March. The position of king is symbolic.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page after the promotion ceremony, Hun Mane expressed the trust and support of the King, his father, Minister of Defense Thi Vine, and all army officers, and gave him Cambodian leadership. and thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve them.

Hun Manet has held several key security posts, and in 2018 he was removed from the 865-member Central Committee of his father’s Cambodian People’s Party, the country’s main decision-making body, to 37 permanent members. Elevated to the committee and a de facto member. of his father’s internal affairs circle.

In a speech at the ceremony, Thi Vine, one of Hun Sen’s most important early supporters, has upgraded and reformed the Cambodian military since Hun Mane took office as army chief in 2018. I admired that.

Hun Sen has led Cambodia with an iron fist for 38 years. In the last election in 2018, he vowed to serve two more terms in office in 2028. He gained some attention and held important positions. He said a new post-election government would likely form in September.

Hun Sen has maintained power as a dictator within a nominal democratic framework. His Cambodian People’s Party in power is certain to top the next polls.that Won all seats in 2018 electionsAfter the court’s ruling, the only credible opposition group, the Cambodian National Rescue Party, was dissolved for plotting to overthrow the government. The court is widely seen as a political tool for Hun Sen’s ruling party.