20230502 AI Cambodia's changing guard Main

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, has worked assiduously to maintain his family's grip on power, grooming his eldest son, Manet, left, to succeed him. © Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images

Cambodia's Hun Sen plans power succession to son, allies' children

Strongman prime minister mulling when to hand over to his eldest child, Hun Manet

PHNOM PENH -- A momentous generational shift in power looms in Cambodia, as Prime Minister Hun Sen works out when to hand over the reins to his eldest son after nearly 40 years of iron-fisted rule.

The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) announced in March that Hun Manet, the prime minister's eldest son and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, would run as a parliamentary candidate in July's national elections. This would make him eligible to become prime minister after his virtually guaranteed election.

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