As part of the ongoing transfer of power to his son, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that two senior government officials will flank Hun Manet as deputy prime ministers in the next term of government.

Speaking on Thursday at the inauguration of a part of Phnom Penh’s third ring road — which has connected Phnom Penh’s Choam Chao roundabout, near the airport, to Kandal’s Kien Svay, beyond Phnom Penh’s Chbar Ampov — Hun Sen said current National Police chief Neth Savoeun, 63, and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol, 67, will soon be appointed as deputy prime ministers.

Hun Sen also said that this morning’s speech would be his last as prime minister, as he prepares a transition to become Senate president and hand the prime ministership to his eldest son Hun Manet, 45.

He said it was better to transfer power when things were stable rather than when he and others of his generation had become too old.

“This is a sacrifice for long-term happiness, to ensure peace and development,” he said.

He could still be prime minister for five or 10 more years, but it was better not to wait too long, he said.

“If I were to die today or tomorrow or I die in a year, what will happen then if we have not prepared for the successors?”

He added that he admired the decision of late King father Norodom Sihanouk to hand over the crown to his son Norodom Sihamoni while he was still alive.

Separately, in a royal decree dated August 2, the king promoted Moeung Ponlork, deputy director of the Defense Ministry’s logistics and finance department, to the role of director, taking over the job of his father Moeung Samphan.

Track the ongoing transfer of power on Kamnotra’s Succession ’23 page