Mr. Hun Xen, even Fidel Castro couldn't stay in power until 90 ... when will YOU learn your lesson?

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro gestures during the final session of the 6th Cuban Communist Party Congress, on April 19, 2011 at the Convention Palace in Havana. (Adalberto Roque / AFP / Getty Images)

Fidel Castro officially removed as head of Cuban Communist Party

The end of an otherwise extraordinary congress sees senior party stalwarts appointed to top posts and leaves the Politburo little changed.

April 20, 2011

By Tracy Wilkinson

Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Mexico City—

It became official Tuesday: Fidel Castro was formally removed from the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party for the first time since its formation nearly 50 years ago.

But despite expectations that the new party leadership would begin to usher in a younger generation, senior stalwarts were appointed to the top posts.

The moves came at the end of an extraordinary congress of the ruling party in which participants also endorsed a potentially far-reaching package of economic reforms.

King-Father: My tribute to Fidel Castro’s Cuba [only because it kicked out a pro-Lon Nol ambassador 39 years ago]

Translated from French by Luc Sâr

My tribute to Fidel Castro’s Cuba
By Norodom Sihanouk

Beijing, P.R. Chine, 04 January 2009

In Cuba, they just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution where Fidel Castro is the Great Hero.

1960s: I nominated Mr. Ung Bun Hor as ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Cuba.

Following the Putsch in Phnom Penh on 18 March 1970: Mr. Ung Bun Hor, through his own demand, was received in Havana at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

H.E. the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs said to Mr. Ung Bun Hor: “Excellency, you will certainly support Prince Norodom Sihanouk who did enormously for the Khmer country, nation and people.”

Ung Bun Hor replied: “Sihanouk is the worst leader. H.E. Lon Nol is the providential man who will turn Cambodia into a great super-developed Superpower.”

The Cuban government gave a few hours to Ung Bun Hor to pack up and definitively leave Cuba.

I will never forget this date of Justice toward me by Cuba, its heroic people, its revolutionary government and its illustrious President Fidel Castro. I am paying a very respectful, grateful, affectionate tribute with admiration.

(Signed) N. Sihanouk

Fidel Castro announes retirement way ahead of his 90th birthday: a hint to all wannabe Asian dictators

Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since his operation in July

Fidel Castro announces retirement

Tuesday, 19 February 2008
BBC News

Cuba's ailing leader Fidel Castro has announced he will not return to the presidency, in a letter published by official Communist Party paper, Granma.

"I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief," he wrote in the letter.

Mr Castro handed over power temporarily to his brother, Raul, in July 2006 when he underwent intestinal surgery.

The 81-year-old has ruled Cuba since leading a communist revolution in 1959.

In December, Mr Castro indicated that he could possibly step down in favour of a younger generation.

In the letter published on Granma's website during the middle of the night in Cuba, Mr Castro said he would not accept another term as president because of the health problems when the National Assembly meets on Sunday.

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FIDEL CASTRO

• Born in 1926 to a wealthy, landowning family
• Took up arms in 1953, six years before coming to power
• Brother Raul was deputy and Che Guevara third in command
• Has outlasted nine American presidents
• Target of many CIA assassination plots
• Daughter is a dissident exile in Miami

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"The moment has arrived to propose and elect the Council of State, its president, vice-president," he added.

"I just want to carry on fighting like a soldier for our ideas."

The National Assembly is widely expected to elect Raul Castro as his successor.

The BBC's Michael Voss in Havana says nobody knows whether the decision has been prompted by a decline in Mr Castro's health - it has been an official secret since the moment he was taken ill.

The president has not been seen in public for 18 months, although the government occasionally releases photographs and pre-edited video of him meeting visiting leaders from around the world, our correspondent says.

Last month, Mr Castro was shown talking to his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The top contenders of the longest-serving leaders

No. 1: Fidel Castro (L) and No. 6: Hun Sen (R)

The List: Presidents for Life

November 2007
Foreign Policy (USA)

Pervez Musharraf, Vladimir Putin, and Hugo Chávez are merely the latest in a long line of strongmen who have used the trappings of democracy to stay in power. In this week’s List, FP takes a look at the world’s longest-serving “elected” leaders.

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No. 1: Fidel Castro

Who: President of Cuba

Years in power: 48

Last elected: 2003, with 100 percent of the vote by the Cuban National Assembly, an elected body that selects the president

Freedom House rating for Cuba: Not free

Democratic credentials: Castro may claim that Cuban democracy is “a thousand times more serious and more honest” than its U.S. counterpart, but the Cuban electoral process is hardly a stellar example of freedom in action. No candidate in municipal or national elections is allowed to campaign for office, and nearly all forms of political dissent are banned. In the 2003 election, Cuban voters were asked to lend a shred of legitimacy to Castro’s dictatorship by electing members to the 609-seat National Assembly. To make things less confusing, only 609 candidates were allowed to run, and they swiftly rubber-stamped another term for el Comandante, who despite his recent bout of ill health, has vowed to outlast U.S. President George W. Bush in office.
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...
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No. 6: Hun Sen

Who: Prime minister of Cambodia

Years in power: 22

Last elected: 2003, when his party won 47 percent of the Cambodian National Assembly

Freedom House rating for Cambodia: Not free

Democratic credentials: In sole control since overthrowing his co-prime minister in a 1997 military coup, Hun Sen has the dubious distinction of actually losing an election rigged in his favor. But that didn’t stop him from clinging to power. Hun Sen’s party notoriously bought votes and intimidated the opposition in the run-up to the 2003 presidential election, but the tactics failed to win Hun Sen the necessary majority to keep him in office. Only his close ties to the security forces kept Cambodia’s leader from retirement. Then again, one must expect such cunning from a former member of the Khmer Rouge.