Cambodian politician
Heng Samrin
(
Khmer
:
??? ?????
; born 25 May 1934) is a
Cambodian
politician
who served as the
President of the National Assembly of Cambodia
(2006?2023). Between 1979 and 1992, he was the
de facto
leader of the
Hanoi
-backed
People's Republic of Kampuchea
(1979?1989) and
State of Cambodia
(1989?1992) and General Secretary of the
Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party
(1981?1991). He has been a
member of Parliament
since 14 June 1993. He is the oldest member of parliament, and the longest-serving president of the National Assembly in history. His honorary title is "
Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin
" (Khmer:
????????????????????? ??? ?????
).
Life and career
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]
Heng Samrin was born in
Kampong Cham Province
, Cambodia, in 1934. He joined the
Khmer Rouge
communist movement led by
Pol Pot
, and became a
political commissar
and army division commander when the Khmer Rouge, backed by
China
, took over the
government
in 1975. In 1978, after a series of violent purges within the Khmer Rouge leadership in which many prominent cadre members whom Pol Pot felt might be rivals were executed, he fled to
Vietnam
.
[3]
In Vietnam, he was one of the founding members of the
Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation
(FUNSK). Later that year, Heng returned to Cambodia and organized a resistance movement with the backing and support of Vietnam and the
Soviet Union
.
After a
Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia
overthrew the
regime of Khmer Rouge
in 1979, Vietnamese occupation authorities established the
People's Republic of Kampuchea
, installing Heng and other pro-Vietnamese Communist politicians as leaders of the new government.
[4]
He became chairman of the People's Revolutionary Council of the PRK in 1979. In 1981, he became chairman of the Council of State and secretary-general of the People's Revolutionary Party. Though at first he was the effective leader of the government, he lost much of his political power when
Hun Sen
became
Prime Minister of Cambodia
in 1985.
As Vietnamese influence declined, Samrin gradually lost his posts, including the post of secretary-general in 1991 and chairman of the council of state in 1992. When King
Norodom Sihanouk
was restored in 1993, Samrin was given the honorary title of Samdech, senior advisor of the King, and was made honorary chairman of Hun Sen's
Cambodian People's Party
. He was vice chairman of the National Assembly of Cambodia (1998?2006). Since 2006, he has acted as Chairman of the
Solidarity Front for Development of the Cambodian Motherland
.
The Cambodian People's Party recently released a book about Samrin called
A Man of the People
,
[5]
dedicated to him as a hero.
[6]
According to that book, among supporters of the ruling CPP Heng Samrin is a "much loved and respected figure", even though his recent duties are often largely ceremonial.
[7]
His full title is
Samdach Akeak Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, Protean Radhsaphea ney Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea
(Khmer: ????????????????????? ??? ????? ????????????? ???????????????????????).
See also
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References
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]
External links
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]
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