Hun Sen Bids Farewell to National Assembly After More Than 40 Years
Former Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during second session of National Assembly. Photo: SHS Media/Telegram
- By Torn Chanritheara
- April 1, 2024 2:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – Former prime minister Hun Sen announced his resignation as a member of the National Assembly on April 1, after more than 40 years as an MP. He is expected to become the president of the Senate in the coming days.
“Goodbye to National Assembly where I sat and worked for half my life, from the first phase, June 1981 to May 1993, and from June 14, 1993, to April 2, 2024,” Hun Sen wrote on the attendance list of the lower house.
Hun Sen later said in the National Assembly’s second plenary session that he would submit his resignation letter on April 2.
In the address, he paid tribute to members of the Assembly for supporting him over the years.
He mentioned the support given to him when he was Chairmen of the Council of Ministers, including the amendment of the Constitution which gave him the opportunity to promote economic reform, in particular land reform aimed at giving ownership to people and farmland in the countryside.
He was a member of the National Assembly since 1993. He was also a member of Parliament during the People's Republic of Kampuchea and the State of Cambodia between 1981 and 1993.
Hun Sen has served as prime minister from 1985 to 2023, becoming one of the longest-serving heads of government. He was succeeded by his son Hun Manet.
He said although he left, he still has the power to nominate the leadership of the National Assembly and candidates for the election under the country’s proportional system since he remains head of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
The former prime minister won a seat in February's senatorial elections, in which the ruling (CPP) won a landslide victory of 55 of the 58 seats up for grabs.
He has said that he would become president of the Senate, allowing him to be acting head of state when King Norodom Sihamoni is absent from the country, a move seen as his return to top state leadership.
“We may be destined to meet here again if the situation requires, that is the Congress of the Senate and the National Assembly,” he told lawmakers.
