Sam Rainsy, Date of Birth, Place of Birth
TweetSam Rainsy
Cambodian politician
Date of Birth: 10-Mar-1949
Place of Birth: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Profession: politician
Nationality: Cambodia
Zodiac Sign: Pisces 
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About Sam Rainsy
- Sam Rainsy (Khmer: ?? ?????? IPA: [s??m re????si?]; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian activist, economist and politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition.
- He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party due to the continued ban on political activity by the party's leader, Kem Sokha.
- In August 2019, Sam Rainsy announced his intention to return to the country along with other senior opposition figures on November 9, 2019, Cambodia's national day of independence.
- The Cambodian government responded by threatening any airline that transported him to Cambodia with "serious consequences".
- The government of Thailand, from where he planned to travel to Cambodia by land, also denied him entry at the request of Cambodia.
- Sam Rainsy was denied boarding on a Thai Airways flight from Paris to Bangkok, from where he planned to travel to Cambodia, on November 7, despite having a valid ticket.
- He said he will find another way to return to his country.
- Sam Rainsy became a member of parliament for Siem Reap in 1993 in elections organized by UNTAC.
- He has had his parliamentary immunity revoked three times.
- He was MP for Siem Reap from 1993 until 1995 when he was expelled from the Constituent Assembly.
- A co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Rainsy was previously a member of the royalist Funcinpec Party and served as the Minister of Economy and Finance during Norodom Ranariddh's administration from 1993 until his sacking in 1994.
- In June 1995, he was expelled from the National Assembly, and formed the Khmer Nation Party (KNP), which changed its name before the 1998 elections to the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) to avoid registration issues.
- From 2000 to 2002 and again from 2012 to 2014, Rainsy was the chairperson of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.Sam Rainsy went into exile on February 3, 2005, citing fear of arrest after a vote in the National Assembly removed parliamentary immunity from himself and fellow SRP MPs Chea Poch and Cheam Channy.
- Rainsy faced multiple criminal defamation charges after accusing the Cambodian People's Party and Funcinpec of corruption in the formation of the current coalition government.
- He has also accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of involvement in the 2004 murder of SRP-affiliated union leader Chea Vichea. In September 2010, Rainsy was tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison for charges widely believed to be politically motivated.
- In 2012, the Sam Rainsy Party merged with the Human Rights Party to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party.
- Following his resignation from the Sam Rainsy Party to lead the newly formed opposition party, Kong Korm succeeded him as party leader in November 2012.
- On July 12, 2013, King Norodom Sihamoni granted a royal pardon to Rainsy at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen, allowing the opposition leader to return to Cambodia without threat of imprisonment, although he remained ineligible for candidacy in the 2013 general election.
- Rainsy returned to Cambodia on July 19, 2013 where hundreds of thousands of his supporters waited along the roads.
- The CNRP gained 55 seats in the National Assembly although Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha have denied these results and accused the ruling party of poll fraud.
- The opposition boycotted parliament in September 2013, until July 2014.In 2016, Rainsy again left Cambodia after being charged with defamation and incitement for accusing Hun Sen's government of orchestrating the high-profile murder of political activist Kem Ley.
- In October 2016, Rainsy's request for a royal pardon was rejected by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
- In February 2017, Rainsy resigned as President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and left the party just four months before local elections and a year before the general election.
- As of February 20, 2017, he has been banned from political activity.
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