Editing Sam Rainsy (section)

{{Short description|Cambodian politician}}
{{Family name hatnote|lang=Cambodian|Sam|Rainsy}} 
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = Sam Rainsy
| native_name         = {{nobold|{{lang|km|សម រង្ស៊ី}}}}
| image               = Sam Rainsy.jpg
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Rainsy in 2015
| honorific-suffix    = 
| office1             = [[Leader of the Opposition (Cambodia)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| primeminister1      = [[Hun Sen]]
| term_start1         = 22 January 2015
| term_end1           = 16 November 2015
| deputy1             = [[Kem Sokha]]
| predecessor1        = Position established
| successor1          = Kem Sokha
| office2             = President of the [[Cambodia National Rescue Party]]
| term_start2         = 17 July 2012
| term_end2           = 11 February 2017
| vicepresident2      = Kem Sokha
| predecessor2        = Position established
| successor2          = Kem Sokha
| office3             = President of the [[Sam Rainsy Party]]
| term_start3         = 2 November 1995
| term_end3           = 17 July 2012
| predecessor3        = Position established
| successor3          = [[Kong Korm]]
| office5             = Member of the [[National Assembly of Cambodia|National Assembly]]
| term_start5         = 5 August 2014
| term_end5           = 16 November 2015
| constituency5       = [[Kampong Cham (National Assembly constituency)|Kampong Cham]]
| term_start6         = 24 September 2008
| term_end6           = 15 March 2011
| constituency6       = Kampong Cham
| term_start7         = 25 November 1998
| term_end7           = 3 February 2005
| constituency7       = Kampong Cham
| term_start8         = 14 June 1993
| term_end8           = 22 June 1995
| constituency8       = [[Siem Reap Province|Siem Reap]]
| office9             = [[Ministry of Economy and Finance (Cambodia)|Minister of Economy and Finance]]
| primeminister9      = [[Norodom Ranariddh]]<br />Hun Sen
| term_start9         = 24 September 1993
| term_end9           = 24 October 1994
| predecessor9        = [[Chhay Than]] as Minister of Finance
| successor9          = [[Keat Chhon]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1949|3|10|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Phnom Penh]], [[French Protectorate of Cambodia|Cambodia]], [[French Indochina]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Cambodia National Rescue Party]] (2012–2017)<br />[[Sam Rainsy Party]] (1995–2012)<br />[[FUNCINPEC]] (1989–1995)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Tioulong Saumura]]|27 February 1971}}
| children            = 3
| relations           = [[Nhiek Tioulong]] (father-in-law)
| residence           = [[Paris]], France
| father              = [[Sam Sary]]
| signature           = Sam Rainsy signature.png
| citizenship         = {{flatlist|
*Cambodia
*France<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national-politics/pm-sar-kheng-prepare-french-rainsy-case/|title=PM, Sar Kheng prepare French Rainsy case|work=[[The Phnom Penh Post]]|first=Chheng|last=Niem|date=10 June 2019|accessdate=11 August 2019}}</ref> 
}}
| profession          = [[Economist]]<br />[[Politician]]
| alma_mater          = [[INSEAD]] ([[Master of Business Administration|MBA]])<br />[[Sciences Po]]<br />[[University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas]]
| website             = {{URL|rainsysam.com}}
| height              = {{height|m=1.75|precision=0}}
}}
'''Sam Rainsy''' ({{langx|km|សម រង្ស៊ី}}, [[Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN|UNGEGN]]: {{Transliteration|km|Sâm Rôngsi}}, [[Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables|ALA-LC]]: {{Transliteration|km|Sam Raṅs′ī}} {{IPA|km|sɑm reaŋsiː|}}; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian [[activism|activist]], [[economist]] and former politician who most recently served as the [[Leader of the Opposition (Cambodia)|Leader of the Opposition]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/house-minority-leader-12192014172811.html |title=Cambodian Parliament Votes to Create House Minority Leader Post |work=rfa.org |publisher=Radio Free Asia |date=December 19, 2014 |accessdate=March 3, 2015}}</ref> 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]]. Between 1998 and 2017, he was the leading opposition figure in Cambodian politics and the main challenger to prime minister [[Hun Sen]] and the [[Cambodian People's Party]]. Since 2015, he has lived in exile, having been banned from entering the 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.<ref name="MPSitting">{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/parliament-07252014195620.html |title=Cambodian Opposition Leader Accepted as MP Ahead of Parliament Sitting |publisher=[[Radio Free Asia]] |date=25 July 2014 |accessdate=31 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="removal">{{Cite news |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/rainsy-stripped-lawmaker-status |title=Rainsy stripped of lawmaker status |work=[[The Phnom Penh Post]] |date=November 16, 2015 |accessdate=November 16, 2015}}</ref> He was MP for [[Siem Reap Province|Siem Reap]] from [[1993 Cambodian general election|1993]] until 1995 when he was expelled from the [[National Assembly of Cambodia|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 [[Ministry of Economy and Finance (Cambodia)|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.<ref name="samrainsyparty.org">http://www.samrainsyparty.org {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050209105125/http://www.samrainsyparty.org/ |date=2005-02-09 }}</ref> From 2000 to 2002 and again from 2012 to 2014, Rainsy was the chairperson of the [[Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cald.org/site/cald/?page_id=5269 |title=CALD Chairs |work=Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats |accessdate=October 18, 2014}}</ref>

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.<ref>[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/02/07/cambod10138.htm Cambodia: Opposition Politicians Arrested, Forced to Flee], February 7, 2005, [[Human Rights Watch]]</ref> Rainsy faced multiple [[Defamation#Criminal|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.<ref>''Human Rights in Asia'' 2011, edited by Thomas W.D. Davis & Brian Galligan (specifically, chapter 8 by Sorpong Peou)</ref><ref>Karbaum, Markus. "Cambodia’s Façade Democracy and European Assistance." ''Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs'' 30.4 (2012): 111-143</ref><ref>Curley, Melissa. "7 Developments in Cambodian democracy." ''Democracy in Eastern Asia: Issues, Problems and Challenges in a Region of Diversity'' (2013): 138</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/world/asia/24briefs-Cambodia.html?_r=1&|title=Cambodia: Opposition Leader Convicted in Absentia|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 September 2010|accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Pike | first=John | title=Cambodia | website=globalsecurity.org| url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cambodia/politics.htm | access-date=13 September 2023}}</ref> 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 12 July 2013, King [[Norodom Sihamoni]] granted a royal pardon to Rainsy at the request of the 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 Cambodian general election|2013 general election]].<ref name="PPP">{{cite news|url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/nec-reiterates-rainsy%E2%80%99s-ineligibility|title=NEC reiterates Rainsy's ineligibility|author=Vong Sokheng|date=18 July 2013|newspaper=The Phnom Penh Post|accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref> Rainsy returned to Cambodia on 19 July 2013 where hundreds of thousands of his supporters waited along the roads.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23358326|title=Opposition leader Sam Rainsy returns to Cambodia|work=BBC News|date=19 July 2013|accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref> The CNRP gained 55 seats in the [[National Assembly (Cambodia)|National Assembly]] although Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha have denied these results and accused the ruling party of poll fraud.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/cambodia/10208102/Cambodian-opposition-rejects-Hun-Sen-election-win-A.html|title=Cambodian opposition rejects Hun Sen election win|date=29 July 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|accessdate=20 February 2014}}</ref> The opposition boycotted parliament in September 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/boycott-09232013145053.html|title=King Convenes Cambodia's Parliament Amid Opposition Boycott|publisher=[[Radio Free Asia]]|date=23 September 2013|accessdate=20 February 2014}}</ref> until July 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phnompenhpost.com/national/opposition-take-oaths-king |title=Opposition take oaths before king |work=[[The Phnom Penh Post]] |date=August 6, 2014 |accessdate=August 6, 2014 |author1=Meas, Sokchea |author2=Ponniah, Kevin |name-list-style=amp }}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sek|first1=Odom|title=Sam Rainsy a No-Show in Kem Ley Defamation Case|url=https://www.cambodiadaily.com/brief/sam-rainsy-no-show-kem-ley-defamation-case-116948/|accessdate=20 August 2016|work=The Cambodia Daily|date=20 August 2016}}</ref> In October 2016, Rainsy's request for a royal pardon was rejected by the Prime Minister, Hun Sen.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-rejects-cnrp-request-pardons-119278/|title=Hun Sen Rejects CNRP Request for Pardons|work=[[The Cambodia Daily]]|date=14 October 2016|accessdate=19 October 2016|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808234213/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-rejects-cnrp-request-pardons-119278/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In February 2017, Rainsy resigned as President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and left the party just four months before [[2017 Cambodian communal elections|local elections]] and a year before the [[2018 Cambodian general election|general election]].<ref name="resign">{{cite news |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sam-rainsy-resigns-cnrp |title=Sam Rainsy resigns from CNRP |work=[[The Phnom Penh Post]] |date=11 February 2017 |accessdate=11 February 2017 |first=Shaun |last=Turton}}</ref> As of 20 February 2017, he has been banned from political activity.

In 2019, Rainsy announced he would return to Cambodia on Independence Day, but was blocked following the Cambodian government's intervention with airlines and with Thailand, where he would have transited.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title=Cambodia's Sam Rainsy says Thai Airways blocked his trip home on orders 'from very high up'|agency=SCMP|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3036682/malaysia-detains-cambodias-mu-sochua-amid-hun-sens|accessdate=7 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news|title=Cambodia Threatens Airlines With 'Serious Consequences' For Ferrying Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy|agency=Radio Free Asia|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/airlines-11012019164905.html|accessdate=7 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news|title=Thai PM says Cambodia's Sam Rainsy unlikely to be allowed in|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics-thailand/thai-pm-says-cambodias-sam-rainsy-unlikely-to-be-allowed-in-idUSKBN1XG0T0|accessdate=7 April 2020}}</ref>