Sam Rainsy

In this Cambodian name, the surname is Sam. In accordance with Cambodian custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Rainsy.
Sam Rainsy
សម រង្ស៊ី
Leader of the Opposition
In office
22 January 2015 – 16 November 2015
Prime MinisterHun Sen
DeputyKem Sokha
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byKem Sokha
President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party
In office
17 July 2012 – 11 February 2017
Vice PresidentKem Sokha
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byKem Sokha
President of the Sam Rainsy Party
In office
2 November 1995 – 17 July 2012
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byKong Korm
Member of the National Assembly
In office
5 August 2014 – 16 November 2015
ConstituencyKampong Cham
In office
24 September 2008 – 15 March 2011
ConstituencyKampong Cham
In office
25 November 1998 – 3 February 2005
ConstituencyKampong Cham
In office
14 June 1993 – 22 June 1995
ConstituencySiem Reap
Minister of Economy and Finance
In office
24 September 1993 – 24 October 1994
Prime MinisterNorodom Ranariddh
Hun Sen
Preceded byChhay Than as Minister of Finance
Succeeded byKeat Chhon
Personal details
Born (1949-03-10) 10 March 1949 (age 75)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, French Indochina
Citizenship
  • Cambodia
  • France[1]
Political partyCambodia National Rescue Party (2012–2017)
Sam Rainsy Party (1995–2012)
FUNCINPEC (1989–1995)
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Spouse
​
(m. 1971)​
RelationsNhiek Tioulong (father-in-law)
Children3
Parent
Residence(s)Paris, France
Alma materINSEAD (MBA)
Sciences Po
University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas
ProfessionEconomist
Politician
Signature
Websiterainsysam.com

Sam Rainsy (Khmer: សម រង្ស៊ី, UNGEGN: Sâm Rôngsi, ALA-LC: Sam Raṅs′ī [sɑm reaŋsiː]; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian activist, economist and former politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition.[2] He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party due to the continued ban on political activity by the party's leader, Kem Sokha. Between 1998 and 2017, he was the leading opposition figure in Cambodian politics and the main challenger to prime minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party. Since 2015, he has lived in exile, having been banned from entering the country.

Sam Rainsy became a member of parliament for Siem Reap in 1993 in elections organized by UNTAC. He has had his parliamentary immunity revoked three times.[3][4] He was MP for Siem Reap from 1993 until 1995 when he was expelled from the Constituent Assembly. A co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Rainsy was previously a member of the royalist Funcinpec Party and served as the Minister of Economy and Finance during Norodom Ranariddh's administration from 1993 until his sacking in 1994. In June 1995, he was expelled from the National Assembly, and formed the Khmer Nation Party (KNP), which changed its name before the 1998 elections to the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) to avoid registration issues.[5] From 2000 to 2002 and again from 2012 to 2014, Rainsy was the chairperson of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.[6]

Sam Rainsy went into exile on February 3, 2005, citing fear of arrest after a vote in the National Assembly removed parliamentary immunity from himself and fellow SRP MPs Chea Poch and Cheam Channy.[7] Rainsy faced multiple criminal defamation charges after accusing the Cambodian People's Party and Funcinpec of corruption in the formation of the current coalition government. He has also accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of involvement in the 2004 murder of SRP-affiliated union leader Chea Vichea.

In September 2010, Rainsy was tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison for charges widely believed to be politically motivated.[8][9][10][11][12] In 2012, the Sam Rainsy Party merged with the Human Rights Party to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party. Following his resignation from the Sam Rainsy Party to lead the newly formed opposition party, Kong Korm succeeded him as party leader in November 2012. On 12 July 2013, King Norodom Sihamoni granted a royal pardon to Rainsy at the request of the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, allowing the opposition leader to return to Cambodia without threat of imprisonment, although he remained ineligible for candidacy in the 2013 general election.[13] Rainsy returned to Cambodia on 19 July 2013 where hundreds of thousands of his supporters waited along the roads.[14] The CNRP gained 55 seats in the National Assembly although Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha have denied these results and accused the ruling party of poll fraud.[15] The opposition boycotted parliament in September 2013,[16] until July 2014.[17]

In 2016, Rainsy again left Cambodia after being charged with defamation and incitement for accusing Hun Sen's government of orchestrating the high-profile murder of political activist Kem Ley.[18] In October 2016, Rainsy's request for a royal pardon was rejected by the Prime Minister, Hun Sen.[19] In February 2017, Rainsy resigned as President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and left the party just four months before local elections and a year before the general election.[20] As of 20 February 2017, he has been banned from political activity.

In 2019, Rainsy announced he would return to Cambodia on Independence Day, but was blocked following the Cambodian government's intervention with airlines and with Thailand, where he would have transited.[21][22][23]

  1. ^ Niem, Chheng (10 June 2019). "PM, Sar Kheng prepare French Rainsy case". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Cambodian Parliament Votes to Create House Minority Leader Post". rfa.org. Radio Free Asia. December 19, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  3. ^ "Cambodian Opposition Leader Accepted as MP Ahead of Parliament Sitting". Radio Free Asia. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Rainsy stripped of lawmaker status". The Phnom Penh Post. November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  5. ^ http://www.samrainsyparty.org Archived 2005-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "CALD Chairs". Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  7. ^ Cambodia: Opposition Politicians Arrested, Forced to Flee, February 7, 2005, Human Rights Watch
  8. ^ Human Rights in Asia 2011, edited by Thomas W.D. Davis & Brian Galligan (specifically, chapter 8 by Sorpong Peou)
  9. ^ Karbaum, Markus. "Cambodia’s Façade Democracy and European Assistance." Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 30.4 (2012): 111-143
  10. ^ Curley, Melissa. "7 Developments in Cambodian democracy." Democracy in Eastern Asia: Issues, Problems and Challenges in a Region of Diversity (2013): 138
  11. ^ "Cambodia: Opposition Leader Convicted in Absentia". The New York Times. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  12. ^ Pike, John. "Cambodia". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  13. ^ Vong Sokheng (18 July 2013). "NEC reiterates Rainsy's ineligibility". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  14. ^ "Opposition leader Sam Rainsy returns to Cambodia". BBC News. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Cambodian opposition rejects Hun Sen election win". The Telegraph. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  16. ^ "King Convenes Cambodia's Parliament Amid Opposition Boycott". Radio Free Asia. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  17. ^ Meas, Sokchea & Ponniah, Kevin (August 6, 2014). "Opposition take oaths before king". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  18. ^ Sek, Odom (20 August 2016). "Sam Rainsy a No-Show in Kem Ley Defamation Case". The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  19. ^ "Hun Sen Rejects CNRP Request for Pardons". The Cambodia Daily. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  20. ^ Turton, Shaun (11 February 2017). "Sam Rainsy resigns from CNRP". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  21. ^ "Cambodia's Sam Rainsy says Thai Airways blocked his trip home on orders 'from very high up'". SCMP. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  22. ^ "Cambodia Threatens Airlines With 'Serious Consequences' For Ferrying Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Thai PM says Cambodia's Sam Rainsy unlikely to be allowed in". Reuters. Retrieved 7 April 2020.