Eyeing the exit, long-serving Cambodian leader keeps it all in the family

BANGKOK — Hun Sen first took power in Cambodia when Ronald Reagan was wrapping up his first term in office, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” topped pop music charts and the Soviet Union was a superpower.

Unlike many of his authoritarian peers, the Cambodian prime minister says he is stepping down on his terms and timetable this summer after finding a suitable successor: his son.

Hun Sen is expected to resign after winning reelection in July, ending a remarkable journey. Once a severely wounded guerrilla in Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, he became one of the world’s longest-ruling leaders, crushing dissent and unsettling the U.S. with a steady move toward China.

Unlike many of his authoritarian peers, the Cambodian prime minister says he's stepping down on his own terms and his own timetable this summer, having found a suitable successor -- his son.

from The Washington Times stories: World https://ift.tt/N7z1pb8