
PHNOM PENH -- The recent death of Chea Sim, a key figure in Cambodia's politics since the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, has put a spotlight on the future of Prime Minister Hun Sen, his longtime ally and one of the world's longest-serving national leaders.
Chea Sim died on June 8 at the age of 82. For more than three decades, he had been a pillar of the country's ruling establishment, serving for years as president of the formerly communist Cambodian People's Party, as well as president of the country's senate.