Mahdi al-Mashat | |
|---|---|
مهدي المشاط | |
.png) al-Mashat in 2023 | |
| Chairman of the Supreme Political Council | |
| Assumed office 25 April 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour Ahmed al-Rahawi Muhammad Ahmed Miftah (acting) |
| Deputy | Qassem Labozah Sadeq Amin Abu Rass |
| Preceded by | Saleh Ali al-Sammad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1986 (age 38–39) Ould Nouar,Saada Governorate,North Yemen |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Yemen (de facto underSupreme Political Council) |
| Years of service | 2019–present |
| Rank |  Field marshal[1] |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | Houthi insurgency in Yemen |
Mahdi al-Mashat (Arabic:مهدي المشاط,romanized: Mahdī al-Mashāṭ; born 1986) is a Yemeni politician and military officer who serves as the chairman of theSupreme Political Council, the executive body of theHouthis.[2]
He hails from the remote hamlet Ould Nouar in the Ḥaydan district,Saada Governorate, an area where many northern Yemeni separatists come from. Since youth, he has been acquainted with one of the leaders of the Houthi rebellion,Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, also a key figure in theZaidi movement since 2004. They are allegedly related by marriage. From 2014 on, al-Mashat was the director of al-Houthis office, his spokesman and representative in peace talks with theUnited Nations, among other posts.[3][4][5]
In November 2013, he participated in an attack on the town ofDammaj in Saada. From May 2016, he was a member of theSupreme Political Council and was considered a representative of the hawkish faction. He participated in talks with the Chinese authorities in September 2016.[6]
On 19 April 2018, he became Chairman of the Supreme Political Council, after the assassination ofSaleh Ali al-Sammad.[5] He is considered chief of the separatist political authorities of northern Yemen, while al-Houthi is head of the movement.[7]
In July 2021, the Supreme Political Council prolonged his tenure for three more terms.[8] Concerning an UN brokered nationwide two-month truce of mid-2022, the first since 2016, he declared not to object an extension, while criticizing its terms for "not being encouraging enough".[9]
In April 2023, he promised to form a committee to investigate theSanaa stampede.[10] Also in April, he met with aSaudi Arabian delegation.[11][12][13] TheseOmani mediated talks failed in July.[14][15] After 10 war years, al-Mashat came up with an outline for peace talks in September 2024. According to the Chinese news agencyXinhua, he demanded financial, military as well as logistical concessions, among them points that had been crucial in earlier talks.[16]
Notes
References
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | — DISPUTED — Chairman of theSupreme Political Council of Yemen 2018–present Disputed byAbdrabbuh Mansur Hadi andRashad al-Alimi (Presidential Leadership Council) Reason for dispute: Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) | Incumbent |
| North Yemen (1918–1990) |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yemen (1967–1990) | |||||
| Republic of Yemen (1990–) | |||||
