Cambodia's still-powerful former leader. He handed the top job to his son, Hun Manet, but continues to pull strings behind the scenes. He is known for his temper. Chen Zhi, a Chinese businessman who took Cambodian citizenship and whom America alleges chairs one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organisations, has acted as adviser to both Hun Sen and Hun Manet.
Hun Sen was once fast friends with Thaksin Shinawatra, who would often visit him during his years in self-exile. The two appear to have suffered a falling-out earlier in 2025 for reasons that remain obscure.
In a leaked recording of a phone call with Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister and Thaksin's daughter, she called Hun Sen "uncle", a term of endearment in Asia.
The chief cause of problems is solutions.