Hun Sen Rejects Thai Honorary Degrees, Calls Them “Worthless” Amid Revocation Announcement

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Aug. 23, 2025) — The Cabinet of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Cambodia, issued a statement Friday detailing the criteria used by three Thai universities in awarding honorary doctoral degrees to the former prime minister, following public scrutiny and a strong reaction from Samdech Hun Sen himself.

The Cabinet said Ramkhamhaeng University conferred an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in 2001, citing Hun Sen’s role in fostering peace, stability and bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and Thailand. Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University followed in 2006 with an honorary doctorate in Education for Local Development, recognizing his contributions to education, public welfare and regional diplomacy. In 2019, Krirk University awarded Hun Sen a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Communication, highlighting his leadership in post-conflict Cambodia and his role in national reconciliation.

However, in a sharply worded post on his official social media account Friday, Samdech Hun Sen dismissed the degrees as “utterly worthless,” saying he had discarded them long ago and never sought recognition from Thai institutions.

“I discarded all three diplomas from Thai institutions that were once awarded to me a long time ago,” Samdech Hun Sen wrote. “They hold no value worth keeping. My intellect and knowledge were not born from your diplomas or Thai schools. It was the Cambodian people and Cambodian schools who educated me.”

Samdech Hun Sen emphasized that the degrees were conferred only after he had already held senior government positions, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs at age 27, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister at 29, and Prime Minister at 32.

“You came to offer me those diplomas along with your formal commendations, not vice versa,” he wrote. “Whether to accept them or not was entirely my decision, and I was never one to take things blindly.”

The post came in response to reports that one Thai university had revoked its honorary degree, prompting Samdech Hun Sen to instruct his office to publish the original assessments used to justify the awards.

The Cabinet reiterated that the degrees were granted based on institutional evaluations of Samdech Hun Sen’s contributions to peace, education and national development, and were consistent with the universities’ criteria for recognizing individuals who have made significant societal impact.