Bun Rany

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In this Cambodian name, the surname is Bun. In accordance with Cambodian custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Rany.
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Cambodia
In role
30 November 1998 – 22 August 2023
Prime MinisterHun Sen
Preceded byHerself
Succeeded byPich Chanmony
In role
24 September 1993 – 30 November 1998
Alongside Norodom Marie (1993–1997) and Ung Malis Yvonne (1997–1998)
Prime Minister

First PM (1997–1998)
  • Hun Sen
    Second PM (1993–1998)
    • Preceded byNorodom Marie
    Succeeded byHerself
    In role
    14 January 1985 – 2 July 1993
    Acting from 24 December 1984
    Prime MinisterHun Sen
    Preceded byPham Thi Ien
    Succeeded byNorodom Marie
    Personal details
    Born
    Bun Sam Hieng

    (1954-12-15) 15 December 1954 (age 69)
    Tbong Khmum Province)
    Political partyCambodian People's Party
    SpouseHun Sen (m. 1976)
    Children
    Residence(s)
    Sino-Khmer[1][2]
    WebsiteCambodian Red Cross

    Bun Rany (Khmer: ប៊ុន រ៉ានី, UNGEGN: Bŭn Rani [ɓun raːniː]; born 15 December 1954) is the spouse of the former Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen. She also served as the vice president of the National Association of the Cambodian Red Cross and, since 1998, as its president.[3] She has received national and international recognition and numerous awards for her work and endeavor with Cambodia's orphans and poor, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and her emphasis on women's issues with efforts to improve domestic safety and empowerment through education and vocational training.[3] Her full honorary title is Samdech Kittipritbandit Bun Rany Hun Sen (Khmer: សម្តេចកិត្តិព្រឹទ្ធបណ្ឌិត ប៊ុន រ៉ានី ហ៊ុនសែន; lit. 'Celebrated Senior Scholar Bun Rany Hun Sen').[4]

    Titles

    As the wife of the Prime Minister, she was previously referred to as Lok Chumteav Bun Rany - Hun Sen (Khmer: លោកជំទាវប៊ុន រ៉ានី ហ៊ុន សែន). Lok Chumteav is a title for high-ranking female officials or the wives of high-ranking ministers or government officials. The name of her husband follows to indicate her title is due to her status as Hun Sen's wife. On 30 March 2011, Cambodian king Norodom Sihamoni granted her the title Kittipritbandit (Khmer: កិត្តិព្រឹទ្ធបណ្ឌិត), a title meaning roughly "Celebrated Senior Sage/Scholar/PhD" and equivalent to an honorary Doctorate in the Royal Academy of Cambodia.[3] On 8 May 2013, King Sihamoni awarded her the title Samdech (Khmer: សម្ដេច), the highest bestowed title in the Khmer kingdom, thus making her full title Samdech Kittipritbandit Bun Rany Hun Sen (Khmer: សម្ដេចកិត្តិព្រឹទ្ធបណ្ឌិតប៊ុន រ៉ានី ហ៊ុន សែន).[3][5] Although she should technically be addressed as Samdech, she is often informally referenced as Lok Chumtiew.

    Early life

    Bun Rany was born Bun Sam Hieng to a Chinese-Khmer family in what was then the province of

    leadership arranged for her training by doctors who had come from Phnom Penh to lecture fresh recruits. After six months of Khmer Rouge training, she was sent back to Krouch Chhmar with the title of Public Health Officer.[1] By 1974, she was the director of a Khmer Rouge hospital located approximately 50 km from the front line of fighting against Lon Nol's Khmer Republic government forces.[citation needed
    ]

    Marriage to Hun Sen

    In March 1974, Rany met Hun Sen (through

    Tboung Khmum districts. On 10 November 1976, Bun Rany gave birth to their first child in Memot, a son whom they named Kamsot (meaning "sad") who died later the same day as a result of being dropped by a Khmer Rouge nurse, Rany claims.[3]

    Hun Sen and Rany have six children, four sons (one of them deceased) and three daughters (one of them adopted). Their names are Kamsot (deceased), Manet, Mana, Manit, Mani, Mali and Malis.[3]

    Activities as First Lady

    Bun Rany accompanies First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama during a visit to Siem Reap Province on 21 March 2015.

    In 1977, the Khmer Rouge began internal purges directed at those suspected of disloyalty. Hun Sen, who had risen to the rank of Battalion Commander, became paranoid and fled with his followers into Vietnam where they joined a rebel army and replacement government organized by the Vietnamese in advance of its

    violently ousting and exiling Ranariddh.[8][9]

    Some of the highlights of her tenure thus far have been the establishment of five development centers located throughout Cambodia aimed at providing vocational and business training to women and the poor,

    2000, 2011 and 2013, among others)[9][10] and efforts supporting the UN Secretary-General's Action Plan for Women and Children's Health.[3]

    Criticism and controversy

    As the former communist wife of a leader who is widely considered a despotic dictator,[11][12][13] Bun Rany is not without detractors.[14] For instance, in 2003 Noranarith Anandayath, adviser to Prince Ranariddh, accused her of politicizing the Red Cross, a worldwide organization whose reputation is founded on its political neutrality, by funneling money from her husband's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) to villagers during an election when parties were prohibited from "making gifts" to voters.[15]

    In October 2013 critics including Prince Sisowath Thomico and

    Pailin, she spent the majority of her speech denouncing the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)[9] in the wake of a controversial national election that spawned some of the biggest protests Cambodia has seen in decades.[16]

    In October 1999, following the public assassination of popular Cambodian actress

    L’Express claimed that the actress’ diary recounted a love affair with Hun Sen and named Bun Rany as the mastermind behind the shooting; the magazine also claimed that on her deathbed the actress had named Bun Rany to several people. Bun Rany quickly denied these charges, and announced that she would press charges against L’Express for defamation.[17] However, no charges were ever brought against L'Express.[18]

    Special interest groups

    Cambodia, officially a multiparty democracy, in reality "remains a one-party state dominated by the Cambodian People's Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen, Bun's husband, a former Khmer Rouge official in power since 1985. The open doors to new investment during his reign have yielded the most access to a coterie of cronies of his and his wife, Bun Rany".[19]

    Awards and honours

    The following is a list of awards and honours accumulated by Lok Chumtiew Bun Rany.[3]

    • November 2006 - Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS and the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum (APLF) recognise Bun Rany as an APLF Outstanding Champion
    • October 2008 - Honorary Doctorate in Humanity from the University of Cambodia[20]
    • June 2009 - Honorary Doctorate in Economic Science from the Women's University of Seoul
    • July 2010 - Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the Jeon Ju University of South Korea
    • April 2010 - Honorary Doctorate in Education from Silla University, Busan, South Korea
    • March 2011 - Granted title Kittiprittbandit of the Royal Academy of Cambodia by King Sihamoni

    References

    1. ^
      ISBN 9789814361293
      . Retrieved 30 January 2014.
    2. ^ a b (in Chinese) 柬埔寨首相夫人上书求禁“3G” 祖籍为中国海南, 2006-06-13, Sohu; 洪森改譯名有“講究” 雲升有著強烈的中國情結 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, 2003-08-13, Qingdao news
    3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kingdom of Cambodia. "Lok Chumteav Dr. Bun Rany - Hun Sen". Kingdom of Cambodia. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
    4. ^ "Welcome, Lord Prime Minister: Cambodian media told to use leader's full royal title". The Guardian. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    5. ^ អយុធ្យា, ដែន (8 May 2013). "អ្នកស្រី ប៊ុន រ៉ានី ត្រូវបានប្រទានងារ "សម្ដេចកិត្តិព្រឹទ្ធបណ្ឌិត"". Radio Free Asia (in Khmer). Retrieved 31 January 2014.
    6. ^ "Cambodia's Hun Sen Is Himself Khmer Rouge". The New York Times. 7 December 1989. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
    7. ^ Balázs Szalontai, From Battlefield into Marketplace: The End of the Cold War in Indochina, 1985-9. In: Artemy Kalinovsky and Sergey Radchenko (eds.), The End of the Cold War in the Third World. New Perspectives on Regional Conflict (London: Routledge, 2011), p. 164.
    8. ^ "Cambodia: July 1997: Shock and Aftermath | Human Rights Watch". 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
    9. ^ a b c Mech, Dara; Alex Willemyns (28 October 2013). "Bun Rany Slams CNRP During Red Cross Event". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
    10. ^ "Case studies on mitigating disasters in Asia and the Pacific" (PDF). Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. June 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
    11. ^ "Speak Truth to Cambodia's Dictator". www.hrw.org. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
    12. ^ "Tenth out of ten". The Economist. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
    13. ^ Reuters Archived 2015-10-18 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 3 February 2014
    14. ^ Hruby, Denise (2 November 2013). "Neutrality of Red Cross in Question After Bun Rany's Speech". The Cambodian Daily. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
    15. ^ Lueng, Wency (23 July 2003). "F'pec Blasts Red Cross Claim Against Princess". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
    16. ^ Dara, Mech (6 January 2014). "CNRP Holds Biggest Demonstration in Decades". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
    17. ^ Marston, John (2000) “Camboya.” Asia Pacífico No. 7, pp. 138-168. available at http://ceaa.colmex.mx/profesores/paginamarston/imagenespaginamarston/ap00.htm
    18. ^ Marcher, Anette (27 October 2000). "Bun Rany fails to act on Pelika diary". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
    19. ^ Bahree, Megha. "In Cambodia, A Close Friendship With The PM Leads To Vast Wealth For One Power Couple". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
    20. ^ "Welcome to The University of Cambodia (UC)". uc.edu.kh. Retrieved 2018-05-09.

    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bun_Rany&oldid=1217892051"