Hun Sen

Hun Sen joined the Khmer Rouge as a soldier, fighting against the Lon Nol government. He was wounded and lost an eye during the conflict, an injury that became a lifelong mark.

Hun Sen defected from the Khmer Rouge to Vietnam, fleeing purges within the regime. He joined Vietnamese-backed forces that later overthrew the Khmer Rouge government in 1979.

Hun Sen was appointed Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, becoming the youngest head of government in the world at age 33. He began consolidating power within the Vietnamese-backed regime.

Hun Sen signed the Paris Peace Accords, ending the Cambodian-Vietnamese War and establishing a UN transitional authority. The accords led to a ceasefire and paved the way for elections in 1993.

Hun Sen staged a coup against co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, seizing sole power. The coup led to international condemnation and a temporary suspension of foreign aid to Cambodia.

Hun Sen's government dissolved the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and banned its leaders from politics. This move effectively ended multi-party democracy in Cambodia and consolidated his one-party rule.