In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 3 May 1954
- Birthplace
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Country
- Cambodia
- Nationality
- Cambodian
- Known for
- Diplomacy, two foreign-ministry periods and the 2022 ASEAN Myanmar mandate
- Born
- 3 May 1954, Phnom Penh
- Law education
- Studies in Phnom Penh, 1972–1975; no completed law degree asserted
- Professional diplomas
- Public administration/international relations, 1993; diplomatic and strategic studies, 2001
- First foreign-ministry period
- April 2016–August 2023
- Senate role
- First vice-president, April–November 2024
- Return to foreign affairs
- November 2024; current title confirmed in October 2026
Why this life matters
His career links bilateral diplomacy and cabinet service with the constraints of regional mediation, requiring distinctions between appointments, negotiations and achieved outcomes.
Timeline
Key moments
Birth
Born in Phnom Penh on 3 May.
Law studies
Studies law before the later military and diplomatic career.
Professional training
Completes the two Paris-based diplomas documented by ITU.
Telecommunications
Serves as posts and telecommunications minister.
Foreign affairs
Serves first as senior minister and later deputy prime minister alongside the foreign portfolio.
ASEAN mandate
Acts as ASEAN chair’s special envoy on Myanmar.
Senate and ministerial return
Serves in the Senate before parliamentary approval of his return to the ministry in November.
Law studies, army journalism and diplomatic training
Prak Sokhonn was born in Phnom Penh on 3 May 1954. He studied law there from 1972 to 1975, but the checked institutional record does not establish a completed law degree. His subsequent career included army service from 1979 and work in military journalism before government advisory and diplomatic appointments.
An International Telecommunication Union biography documents later professional training in Paris: a 1993 diploma from the International Institute of Public Administration’s international-relations section and a 2001 diploma from the Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies. These qualifications belong to different periods and institutions, not one degree completed before his early public service.
Two foreign-ministry periods and a Senate interval
Sokhonn served as posts and telecommunications minister from September 2013 to April 2016. His first foreign-minister period began in April 2016, initially with senior-minister rank and subsequently as deputy prime minister from September 2018. It ended in August 2023.
He became first vice-president of the Senate in April 2024, then returned to foreign affairs later that year. AP reported National Assembly approval on 20 November 2024, replacing Sok Chenda Sophea. A government roster and dated October 2026 reporting retain his deputy-prime-minister and foreign-minister titles. The two starting years in biographies therefore describe separate periods, not a continuous appointment from 2016.
Mine action and the Myanmar mediation mandate
Sokhonn’s international work has included mine action as well as conventional diplomacy. His ITU biography records the presidency of a Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Convention during 2011–2012. That institutional responsibility is distinct from individually clearing mines or being solely responsible for a country’s mine-action results.
In 2022, during Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship, he served as the chair’s special envoy on Myanmar. The mandate involved attempts to promote dialogue and humanitarian access after the military takeover. His Cambodian ministerial office and the regional envoy role overlapped, but were not the same appointment.
The limits of engagement and continuing diplomacy
In a July 2022 CNA interview, Sokhonn defended engagement while acknowledging that he had been denied access to Aung San Suu Kyi on his two previous visits. The account records both his assessment of limited progress and disagreement within ASEAN over how to proceed.
A September 2022 Singapore foreign-ministry reply likewise assessed that little progress had occurred despite successive envoys’ efforts, placing primary responsibility on Myanmar’s military authorities. These records do not support a claim that the mission achieved peace. His later foreign-ministry work continued in a different setting: AKP reported his October 2026 travel as Cambodia’s agent in Cambodia–Thailand maritime conciliation. Participation in that process is not evidence of a completed settlement.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Prak Sokhonn
- Is Prak Sokhonn still Cambodia’s foreign minister?
- The government roster and official reporting dated October 2026 identify him as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation.
- Why are both 2016 and 2024 given as his starting year?
- He first served as foreign minister from April 2016 to August 2023, then returned in November 2024 after a Senate interval.
- Did Prak Sokhonn serve in the Senate?
- Yes. His official career record identifies him as first vice-president from April to November 2024.
- Did his ASEAN Myanmar mission achieve a peace settlement?
- The checked records do not establish a successful peace settlement. They document attempted engagement, denied access to Aung San Suu Kyi and regional assessments of little progress in 2022.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Sok Siphana
Read about the trade negotiator whose advisory work was attached to the foreign ministry before his separate 2023 Cabinet appointment.
- Hun Sen
Place Sokhonn’s earlier cabinet service and later Senate role alongside the Cambodian leader’s different offices.
- Hun Manet
Read about the prime minister heading the government during Sokhonn’s return to foreign affairs.
- Kao Kim Hourn
Compare national ministerial responsibility with the ASEAN secretary-general’s distinct regional mandate.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs · official CVBirth, education and successive military, diplomatic, cabinet and Senate appointments
Substantial official CV text was inspected through the search index after direct retrieval returned Request Rejected. ITU supplies reliable diploma-year pairing rather than the scrambled multi-column extraction.
- 2. International Telecommunication Union · 2013 institutional biographyAccessible corroboration of birth, law studies, diploma-year pairings and mine-action role
- 3. Associated Press · 20 November 2024Parliamentary approval of the ministerial return
The indexed AP report supplies the parliamentary approval and return chronology; direct article opening failed.
- 4. Cambodian digital-economy council · current rosterDisplayed current ministerial titles
The displayed membership has been updated after the page’s introductory October 2023 decision. That introductory date is not treated as Sokhonn’s return date.
- 5. AKP · 11 October 2026Dated current titles and Cambodia–Thailand conciliation role
- 6. CNA · 20 July 2022 interviewEnvoy’s account of access, engagement and limited progress
- 7. Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs · 13 September 2022Regional-government assessment of the Myanmar process
This is a dated regional assessment, not evidence that every subsequent diplomatic effort failed. No settlement outcome is inferred from the 2026 conciliation visit.
- 8. Wikimedia Commons · original photo and rights recordIdentified supplied frame, original creator and reuse terms
The EC audiovisual record P-059710/00-02 identifies the 12 December 2022 meeting and photographer Lukasz Kobus. Commons records a 26 April 2024 review by Sikander; EC-owned audiovisual material is licensed CC BY 4.0 unless stated otherwise. The displayed © European Union, 2026 notice is retained separately from the 2022 capture date. No endorsement or personality-rights clearance is implied.
