Ruling party of Cambodia since 1979
Cambodian People's Party
????????????????????
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/Cambodian_People%27s_Party_%28emblem%29.png/180px-Cambodian_People%27s_Party_%28emblem%29.png) |
Khmer name
| ????????????????????
|
---|
Abbreviation
| CPP
KPRP (before 1991)
|
---|
President
| Hun Sen
|
---|
Vice Presidents
| Say Chhum
Sar Kheng
Tea Banh
Men Sam An
[1]
Hun Manet
|
---|
Founders
| S?n Ng?c Minh
Tou Samouth
|
---|
Founded
| 28 June 1951
; 72 years ago
(
1951-06-28
)
[2]
|
---|
Split from
| Indochinese Communist Party
|
---|
Headquarters
| 7 January
Palace
[3]
203
Norodom Boulevard
,
Phnom Penh
, Cambodia
|
---|
Youth wing
| People's Revolutionary Youth Union of Kampuchea
(1979?1989)
Central Youth of the Cambodian People's Party (present)
|
---|
Military wing
| Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces
(1979?1989)
Cambodian People's Armed Forces
(1989?1993)
|
---|
Membership
(2023)
| 7,100,000
[4]
|
---|
Ideology
| |
---|
Political position
| Big tent
|
---|
National affiliation
| Solidarity Front for Development of the Cambodian Motherland
|
---|
International affiliation
| Centrist Democrat International
|
---|
Colors
|
Sky blue
|
---|
Slogan
| "
??????? ???????? ??????? ????????????? ?????????? ????????????????
"
("Independence, Peace, Freedom, Democracy, Neutrality and Social Progress")
|
---|
Anthem
| "
??????????????????????????????
"
("Anthem of the Cambodian People's Party")
|
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Senate
|
|
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National Assembly
|
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Commune chiefs
|
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Commune councillors
|
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Provincial, municipal, town and district councillors
[10]
|
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Provincial Governors
|
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cpp
.org
.kh
|
|
The
Cambodian People's Party
(
CPP
)
[a]
is a
Cambodian
political party
which has ruled the country since
1979
. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the
Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party
(
KPRP
).
[b]
During the
Cold War
it allied itself with
Vietnam
and the
Soviet Union
, in contrast to the pro-Chinese
Communist Party of Kampuchea
led by
Pol Pot
.
[11]
After toppling the
Khmer Rouge
's
Democratic Kampuchea regime
with the Vietnamese-backed liberation of
Phnom Penh
, it became the ruling party of the
People's Republic of Kampuchea
(1979?1989), which was later renamed the State of Cambodia (1989?1991). The party's current name was adopted during the final year of the State of Cambodia, when the party abandoned the
one-party system
and
Marxism?Leninism
.
Originally rooted in
communist
and Marxist?Leninist ideologies, the party took on a more
reformist
outlook in the mid-1980s under
Heng Samrin
. In 1991, the CPP officially dropped its commitment to
socialism
, and has since embraced a
mixed economy
. Along with some major parties of the European centre-right, the CPP is a member of the
Centrist Democrat International
.
The party's rule has been described as
authoritarian
.
[12]
[13]
History
[
edit
]
Forerunner organizations and early history
[
edit
]
Nationalists in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos held the belief that to successfully liberate themselves from
France
they needed to work together; the nationalists formed the supranational
Indochinese Communist Party
(ICP) to oppose the French in 1930.
However, the triumph of the Japanese during the early stage of
World War II
crippled French rule and helped to nurture nationalism in all three Indochinese countries. Consequently, the idea of an Indochinese-wide party was submerged in the rhetoric of fierce nationalism. In Cambodia, growing nationalist sentiment and national pride married historical mistrust and fear of neighbouring countries, which turned out to be a stumbling block for the ICP. On 28 June 1951, the Cambodian nationalists who struggled to free Cambodia from
French colonial rule
split from the ICP to form the
Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party
(
KPRP
).
In 1955, the KPRP established a subsidiary party named the
Pracheachon
in order to run in the national election that year. The name of the party was changed to the Workers' Party of Kampuchea (WPK) on 28 September 1960 and then to the
Communist Party of Kampuchea
(CPK) in 1966. Members of the CPK moved the party's headquarters to
Ratanakiri Province
, where they were termed "
Khmer Rouge
" by Prince
Norodom Sihanouk
.
Pen Sovan's leadership (1979?1981)
[
edit
]
In early 1979, the Cambodian communists who overthrew the
Khmer Rouge's regime
to end the genocide held a congress. At this gathering, they declared themselves the true successors of the original KPRP founded in 1951 and labelled the congress as the Third Party Congress, thus not recognizing the 1963, 1975 and 1978 congresses of CPK as legitimate. The party considered 28 June 1951 as its founding date. A national committee led by Pen Sovan and Roh Samai was appointed by the Congress. The women's wing of the party, the National Association of Women for the Salvation of Kampuchea, was also established in 1979 with a vast national network of members that extended to the district level.
The existence of the party was kept secret until its 4th congress in May 1981, when it appeared publicly and assumed the name KPRP. The name-change was stated to be carried out "to clearly distinguish it from the reactionary Pol Pot party and to underline and reassert the continuity of the party's best traditions".
Heng Samrin's leadership (1981?1991)
[
edit
]
As of 1990, members of the Politburo were
Heng Samrin
(General Secretary),
Chea Sim
,
Hun Sen
,
Chea Soth
,
Math Ly
,
Tea Banh
,
Men Sam An
,
Nguon Nhel
,
Sar Kheng
,
Bou Thang
,
Ney Pena
,
Say Chhum
and alternate members included Sing Song,
Sim Ka
and
Pol Saroeun
. Members of the Secretariat were
Heng Samrin
,
Say Phouthang
,
Bou Thang
, Men Sam An and Sar Kheng.
Hun Sen's leadership (1991?2023)
[
edit
]
Hun Sen addresses the crowd at a campaign rally in Phnom Penh.
In 1991, the party was renamed to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) during a United Nations-sponsored peace and reconciliation process. Politburo and the Secretariat to enter into the new Standing Committee, Chea Sim as President and Hun Sen as Vice-president. Despite being rooted in socialism, the party adopted a pragmatic approach in order to keep power. For instance, the CPP played a major role in Cambodian peace negotiation process, which led to the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 23 October 1991 and the creation of the second Kingdom of Cambodia. The CPP ousted Nodorom Ranariddh in a coup in 1997, leaving the party with no serious opposition. Thirty-two people died in the coup.
Under CPP rule, Cambodia transitioned into a lower-middle-income economy in 2016. The party aims to turn Cambodia into a higher-middle-income country by 2030 and high-income country by 2050. Ideologically, an increasing number of CPP senior leaders claim that the Cambodian ruling party has adopted a centrist position. They believe that the CPP presents a
middle path
between capitalism and communism, with emphasis on the values and principles of
social market economy
along with social and environmental protection, and Buddhist humanism. However, academics such as John Ciorciari have observed that the CPP still continues to maintain its communist-era party structures and that many of its top-ranking members were derived from KPRP. Also, despite Hun Sen being only the deputy leader of the party until 2015, he had de facto control of the party.
It won 64 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly in the
1998 elections
, 73 seats in the
2003 elections
and 90 seats in the
2008 elections
, winning the popular vote by the biggest margin ever for a National Assembly election with 58% of the vote. The CPP also won the 2006 Senate elections. The party lost 22 seats in the
2013 elections
, with opposition gained. Since
2018 Cambodian general election
, the party commands all 125 seats in the National Assembly, and 58 of 62 seats in the Senate. The main opposition, the
Cambodia National Rescue Party
(CNRP), was banned before the election.
[14]
Hun Sen, the former Prime Minister of Cambodia, has served as the CPP's President since 2015.
Party leadership (1979?1993)
[
edit
]
- Heng Samrin:
- General Secretary of the KPRP (1981?1991)
- Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (later the Council of State) (1979?1992)
- Chea Sim:
- Minister of the Interior (1979?1981)
- President of the National Assembly (1981?92),
- Chairman of the Council of State (1992?1994)
- Pen Sovan:
- Minister of Defense (1979?1981);
- General Secretary of the KPRP (1979?81);
- Prime Minister (1981)
- Hun Sen:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs (1979?1986; 1987?1990);
- Deputy Prime Minister (1981?85),
- Prime Minister (1985?1993)
- Chan Sy:
- Minister of defense (1981?1982),
- Prime Minister (1981?1984)
- Say Phouthang:
- Vice President of the State Council (1979?1993)
- Chea Soth:
- Minister of Planning (1982?1986),
- Deputy Prime Minister (1982?1992)
- Bou Thang:
- Deputy Prime Minister (1982?1992),
- Minister of Defense (1982?1986)
- Math Ly:
- Vice President of the National Assembly
- Kong Korm:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs (1986?1987)
- Hor Namhong:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990?1993)
List of party leaders
[
edit
]
President of the Cambodian People's Party
|
---|
|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/Cambodian_People%27s_Party_%28emblem%29.png/100px-Cambodian_People%27s_Party_%28emblem%29.png) Emblem of the Cambodian People's Party
|
Incumbent
Hun Sen
since 20 June 2015
|
Type
| Party leader
|
---|
Seat
| Phnom Penh
,
Cambodia
|
---|
Formation
| 28 June 1951
; 72 years ago
(
1951-06-28
)
|
---|
First holder
| Tou Samouth
as General Secretary
|
---|
Deputy
| Vice President
|
---|
KPRP (General Secretary)
CPP (President)
No.
|
Portrait
|
Name
(Birth?Death)
|
Term of office
|
Office held
|
Vice President
|
From
|
To
|
Duration
|
1
|
|
|
Tou Samouth
?? ?????
(1915?1962)
|
21 September 1951
|
30 September 1960
|
9 years, 9 days
|
―
|
?
|
2
|
|
|
Pen Sovan
???? ??????
(1936?2016)
|
5 January 1979
|
5 December 1981
|
2 years, 334 days
|
Minister of Defence
(1979?1981)
Prime Minister
(1981)
|
?
|
3
|
|
|
Heng Samrin
??? ?????
(born 1934)
|
5 December 1981
|
17 October 1991
|
9 years, 316 days
|
Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Council
(1979?1981),
President of the Council of State
(1981?1992),
President of the National Assembly
(2006?2023)
|
?
|
4
|
|
|
Chea Sim
?? ????
(1932?2015)
|
17 October 1991
|
8 June 2015
†
|
23 years, 234 days
|
Chairman of the National Assembly
(1981?1993),
President of the Council of State
(1992?1993),
President of the Senate
(1999?2015)
|
Hun Sen
|
5
|
|
|
Hun Sen
???? ???
(born 1952)
|
20 June 2015
|
Present
|
9 years, 1 day
|
Minister of Foreign Affairs
(1979?1986, 1988?1990),
Prime Minister
(1985?2023),
President of the Senate
(2024?)
|
Sar Kheng
|
Say Chhum
|
Men Sam An
|
Tea Banh
|
Hun Manet
|
Organization
[
edit
]
The party is headed by a 34-member Permanent Committee, commonly referred to as the
Politburo
(after its former Communist namesake). The current members are (with their party positions in brackets):
Recent electoral history
[
edit
]
General election
[
edit
]
Year
|
Party leader
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
Seats
|
Position
|
Government
|
#
|
%
|
±
|
#
|
±
|
1981
|
Pen Sovan
|
2,898,709
|
90.3
|
New
|
|
New
|
1st
|
KPRP
|
1993
|
Chea Sim
|
Hun Sen
|
1,533,471
|
38.2
|
52.1
|
|
66
|
2nd
|
FUNCINPEC
?CPP?
BLDP
?
MOULINAKA
|
1998
|
2,030,790
|
41.4
|
3.2
|
|
13
|
1st
|
CPP?FUNCINPEC
|
2003
|
2,447,259
|
47.3
|
5.9
|
|
9
|
1st
|
CPP?FUNCINPEC
|
2008
|
3,492,374
|
58.1
|
10.8
|
|
17
|
1st
|
CPP?FUNCINPEC
|
2013
|
3,235,969
|
48.8
|
9.3
|
|
22
|
1st
|
CPP
|
2018
|
Hun Sen
|
4,889,113
|
76.8
|
28.0
|
|
57
|
1st
|
CPP
|
2023
|
Hun Sen
|
Hun Manet
|
6,398,311
|
82.3
|
5.5
|
|
5
|
1st
|
CPP
|
Communal elections
[
edit
]
Year
|
Leader
|
Votes
|
Chiefs
|
Councillors
|
Position
|
#
|
%
|
±
|
#
|
±
|
#
|
±
|
2002
[15]
|
Hun Sen
|
2,647,849
|
60.9
|
New
|
|
New
|
|
New
|
1st
|
2007
[16]
|
3,148,533
|
60.8
|
0.1
|
|
7
|
|
441
|
1st
|
2012
[17]
|
3,631,082
|
61.8
|
1.0
|
|
1
|
|
299
|
1st
|
2017
[18]
|
3,540,056
|
50.8
|
11.0
|
|
436
|
|
1,789
|
1st
|
2022
[19]
|
5,378,773
|
74.3
|
23.5
|
|
492
|
|
2,873
|
1st
|
Senate elections
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"DPMs Tea Banh and Men Sam An elected as VPs of ruling party"
.
Khmer Times
. 24 December 2021
. Retrieved
24 December
2021
.
- ^
Niem, Chheng (26 June 2019).
"CPP set to mark anniversary, vows to maintain public trust"
.
The Phnom Penh Post
. Retrieved
26 June
2019
.
- ^
"New $30M CPP Headquarters Inaugurated"
.
Cambodianess
. 29 June 2020
. Retrieved
30 May
2024
.
- ^
"Cambodian PM elected as ruling party's vice president"
. Xinhua. 10 December 2023
. Retrieved
16 January
2024
.
- ^
Aflaki, Inga N. (2016).
Entrepreneurship in the Polis
. Routledge. p. 196.
ISBN
9781472423993
.
- ^
Quackenbush, Casey (7 January 2019).
"40 Years After the Fall of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia Still Grapples With Pol Pot's Brutal Legacy"
.
Time
. Retrieved
7 December
2019
.
- ^
Prak, Chan Thul (2 February 2018).
"Cambodian government criminalizes insult of monarchy"
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
21 June
2019
.
- ^
Hul, Reaksmey (27 October 2018).
"Hun Sen, Former Opposition Leader in Row Over 'Loyalty to Royals'
"
.
Voice of America
. Retrieved
21 June
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Vickery, Michael (1 January 1994).
"The Cambodian People's Party: Where Has It Come From, Where Is It Going?"
.
Southeast Asian Affairs
.
21
: 102.
doi
:
10.1355/SEAA94G
.
ProQuest
1308074383
.
- ^
Khorn, Savi (11 June 2019).
"Ministry: Councillors to be appointed by next Monday"
.
The Phnom Penh Post
. Retrieved
17 June
2019
.
- ^
Chandler, David P.; C., D. P. (1983). "Revising the Past in Democratic Kampuchea: When Was the Birthday of the Party?".
Pacific Affairs
.
56
(2): 288?300.
doi
:
10.2307/2758655
.
JSTOR
2758655
.
- ^
Bahree, Megha (24 September 2014).
"In Cambodia, A Close Friendship With The PM Leads To Vast Wealth For One Power Couple"
.
Forbes
.
Archived
from the original on 28 October 2014
. Retrieved
28 October
2014
.
- ^
David Roberts (29 April 2016).
Political Transition in Cambodia 1991?99: Power, Elitism and Democracy
. Taylor & Francis.
ISBN
978-1-136-85054-7
.
Archived
from the original on 10 February 2023
. Retrieved
12 September
2017
.
(section XI, "Recreating Elite Stability, July 1997 to July 1998")
- ^
"Cambodian electoral clean-sweep ? DW ? 08/15/2018"
.
dw.com
.
- ^
"Report on the Commune Council Elections ? 3 February 2002"
(PDF)
.
comfrel.org
. Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL). March 2002
. Retrieved
4 September
2018
.
- ^
"Final Assessment and Report on 2007 Commune Council Elections"
(PDF)
.
comfrel.org
. Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL). 1 April 2007
. Retrieved
4 September
2018
.
- ^
"Final Assessment and Report on 2012 Commune Council Elections"
(PDF)
.
comfrel.org
. Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL). October 2012
. Retrieved
4 September
2018
.
- ^
"Final Assessment and Report on 2017 Commune Council Elections"
(PDF)
.
comfrel.org
. Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL). October 2017
. Retrieved
4 September
2018
.
- ^
"Provisional Results Give Cambodian Ruling Party Victory in Local Elections"
.
The Diplomat
. 7 June 2022
. Retrieved
10 June
2022
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Guo, Sujian (2006).
The Political Economy of Asian Transition from Communism
. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN
0754647358
.
External links
[
edit
]
Current and former ruling parties of communist states
|
---|
|
- Italics indicates a current ruling party or communist state
- An asterisk indicates a party no longer espousing communism
|