The Hun family is solidifying an already iron grip on Cambodia after the National Assembly voted unanimously to appoint Minister of Civil Service Hun Many as a deputy prime minister.
Many received all of the 120 votes during an extraordinary session chaired by Khuon Sudary, president of the National Assembly on Wednesday, local media reported.
There are 10 other deputy prime ministers.
Prime Minister Hun Manet told lawmakers the promotion of his youngest brother was in line with the need to achieve the “highest efficiency of the government’s policy,” with his goal to turn Cambodia into a high-income country by 2050, Agence France-Presse reported.
Many, 41, is the youngest son of Cambodian People’s Party president Hun Sen, 71, who stepped down as prime minister after last year’s national elections in favor of eldest son Hun Manet, 45.
Hun Sen traveled to Bangkok Wednesday on a private plane to visit Thaksin Shinawatra at the former Thai prime minister’s private residence.
“So much for ‘good governance’ or ‘human rights’ in the Mekong sub-region,” the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, posted on X.
Thaksin was released from the Police General Hospital on Sunday, after being held there due to ill health for six months on corruption charges following his return from exile.
Hun Sen provided Thaksin with sanctuary during his 15-year exile, allowing him to visit frequently as a special adviser to Cambodia.
Hun Sen son’s appointment as deputy prime minister on Wednesday was not unexpected. On Feb. 16, exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Hun Many’s new position would show that “this regime is a feudal clan, as far away from public accountability as any in the world.”
Hun Sen was Cambodia’s prime minister from 1985 to 2023, the longest-serving premier in the country’s history.
He is set to become the president of the Senate following an election on Sunday.
Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang.
