Sar Kheng

Sar Kheng (Khmer: ស ខេង; born 15 January 1951) is a Cambodian politician. One of the highest-ranking members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, the former Khmer Rouge official is the current Minister of the Interior and has served as a Deputy Prime Minister since 1992. He also represents the province of Battambang in the Cambodian Parliament. Kheng has been the Minister of the Interior since 1992. Until March 2006, he shared the position with FUNCINPEC party member You Hockry as co-Ministers of the Interior, but then became sole interior minister in a cabinet reshuffle as FUNCINPEC ended its coalition with the CPP. He is currently the most senior deputy prime minister. On June 14, 2015, King Norodom Sihamoni awarded Kheng the honorary title of "Samdech". His official title is "Samdech Kralahom Sar Kheng" (សម្ដេចក្រឡាហោម ស ខេង). Kheng is married to Nhem Sakhan with whom he has three children.

Background

Kheng is a long-time member of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, which, according to international observers, has dominated politics and held on to power in Cambodia since 1979 through corruption, including extralegal killings, election fraud, control of the media, and at times, open violence such as the 1997 coup and 2015 intimidation of the opposition CNRP deputy leader, Kem Sokha. Within the CPP, Kheng is its Vice President and a standing member of its Central Committee, the body responsible for all core decision making. Kheng is also brother-in-law to former Khmer Rouge commander Chea Sim, who was CPP president until his death in 2015.