Neth Savoeun

Neth Savoeun is a deputy prime minister of Cambodia, serving under prime minister Hun Manet. He previously served as the National Police Chief from 2008 to 2023. Savoeun was promoted from Deputy National Police Chief to the most senior law enforcement position of the country in November 2008 after his predecessor, Hok Lundy, whose tenure was mired in controversy and accusations of corruption, died in a helicopter crash. Savoeun, who was 52 years old at the time of his appointment, is married to Prime Minister Hun Sen's niece, Hun Kimleng. Prior to the National Police force, Savoeun was the police chief of Phnom Penh during the State of Cambodia and then, after the 1993 elections, head of the justice department in the Interior Ministry’s Penal Crimes Division.

Background Savoeun 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, Savoeun is a member of its Central Committee, the body responsible for all core decision making, and maintains close ties with Hun Sen, to whose niece he married in the early 1990s.

Tenure as National Police Chief Savoeun was chosen to succeed Hoc Lundy by Hun Sen and appointed by royal decree of Cambodian king Norodom Sihamoni on 11 November 2008. He was officially sworn into office on 21 November by Interior Minister Sar Kheng amid allegations of nepotism and lack of qualifications. Also in March, Savoeun threatened to fire police officials for not acting to stop a series of brazen armed robberies of jewelry stores and tourists around the nation. Savoeun called a high-level meeting in September in which he announced plans to crack down on human trafficking, a nationwide problem in Cambodia. During an internal promotion ceremony in October 2015, Savoeun scolded police at all levels, saying they need to work better with citizens and "behave better" in general if they expect to be promoted.

Despite such high-profile efforts, however, the National Police force, and Savoeun in particular, are still used as tools of the CPP. Hun Sen and the CPP regularly use uniformed military and police leaders, including General Savoeun to campaign during elections. In August 2015 Hun Sen tasked Savoeun with arresting Teav Vannol, an outspoken senator of the opposition party for comments he made regarding Hun Sen's allegedly pro-Vietnamese interpretations of Cambodian-Vietnamese treaties. In 2010, Hun Sen sent Savoeun on a personal mission to track down the Prime Minister's nephew who had abandoned his wife. In October, after Savoeun's police ignored the calls of Kem Sokha's wife for help when her house was surrounded and pelted by rocks for six hours by a pro-CPP mob, Hun Sen announced that Savoeun would not accept being replaced if the CNRP won the next elections.

Personal life Savoeun is married to Hun Kimleng, the niece of Hun Sen, and has three daughters. Kimleng obtained Cypriot citizenship in November 2017, and the family's wealth and foreign passports have courted significant scrutiny. In 2017, the United States Department of State banned Savoeun and his immediate family members from traveling into the United States for "undermining democracy."