Mohammed al-Houthi | |
|---|---|
محمد الحوثي | |
.png) al-Houthi in 2023 | |
| Head of State of Yemen | |
| In office 6 February 2015 – 15 August 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | Talal Aklan(Acting) |
| Deputy | Naef Ahmed al-Qanis |
| Preceded by | Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi (asPresident of Yemen) |
| Succeeded by | Saleh Ali al-Sammad (asChairman of the Supreme Political Council) |
| President of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen | |
| Assumed office 6 February 2015 | |
| President | Himself Saleh Ali al-Sammad Mahdi al-Mashat |
| Prime Minister | Talal Aklan(Acting) Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour Ahmed al-Rahawi Muhammad Ahmed Miftah |
| Deputy | Naef Ahmed al-Qanis |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Senior MemberSupreme Political Council | |
| Assumed office 15 October 2020 | |
| President | Mahdi al-Mashat |
| Prime Minister | Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1979 (age 45–46) |
| Relations | Abdul-Malik al-Houthi Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi Yahia al-Houthi (Cousins) Badreddin al-Houthi (Uncle) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Houthi movement |
| Battles/wars | Houthi insurgency in Yemen Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) |
Mohammed al-Houthi[b] (born 1979) is a Yemeni politician who was the formerpresident of theRevolutionary Committee or Revolutionary Council, a body formed byHouthi militants and thede facto President of Yemen. He is one of the military field commanders who led the group'sseizure of the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 2014,[1] and eventually became thede facto leader of Yemen after the Houthitakeover of theYemeni government in 2015. He is a cousin ofAbdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, the group's leader.[2][3][4]
According to the 6 February 2015 statement by a Houthi representative, the Revolutionary Committee is in charge of governing Yemen and forming a new parliament, which will then appoint a five-member presidential council.[2][5] However, other reports indicated the committee itself would serve as the presidential council.[3][6]
Al-Houthi has been described as a "former political prisoner".[7]
Mahmoud Al-Junaid was named as director of the presidential office on 9 February 2015, although he declined to confirm to theYemen Times whether he was working for them.[8]
The newspaperAsharq al-Awsat reported on 19 February that al-Houthi had been sacked over the lack of an agreement among Yemen's political factions to support the Houthis' transitional authority, but a senior Houthi leader denied that he had been dismissed.[9] The next day,Reuters and other news outlets reported thatUN-led negotiations had produced a tentative agreement regarding theYemeni parliament, but it did not address the political dispute over the presidency.[10][11]
On 21 March 2015, al-Houthi spoke at a meeting of the Revolutionary Committee, giving an address in which he saidAbdrabbuh Mansur Hadi's term of office legally ended on 21 February 2015 and his legitimacy had expired. He criticised foreign governments for continuing to back Hadi, accusing them of "blatant interference" in Yemeni affairs.[12]
Al-Houthi was injured by aRoyal Saudi Air Force strike in Sana'a during the first night of amilitary intervention in Yemen led bySaudi Arabia on 25 March 2015, according toAl Jazeera.[13]
Houthi-controlled state media reported in November 2015 that al-Houthi sent a letter toUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon calling on the UN to restrain the Saudi-led coalition and accusing the coalition of "war crimes" and "genocides" against Yemen.[14]
On 15 August 2016, theSupreme Revolutionary Committee handed power to theSupreme Political Council.[15]
TheUnited Nations, theUnited States and theGulf Cooperation Council refused to recognise the legitimacy of the Houthi declaration placing al-Houthi and the Revolutionary Committee in charge of Yemen's government.[16] TheUN Security Council adopted a resolution on 15 February 2015 calling on the Houthis to relinquish control of state institutions, with Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon warning that Yemen teetered on the verge ofstate failure.[17]
On 9 November 2018, an opinion article by al-Houthi calling for peace in Yemen was published inThe Washington Post.[18]
On 11 January 2021, the United States designated al-Houthi's movement as a "terrorist organization".[19] al-Houthi condemned the move by saying that the group "reserves its right to respond" to any designation by theTrump administration.[19] al-Houthi himself was also blacklisted by the United States government in the same measure.[20]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byasPresident of Yemen | President of theSupreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen 2015–2016 | Succeeded byas President of theSupreme Political Council of Yemen |
| North Yemen (1918–1990) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yemen (1967–1990) | |||||
| Republic of Yemen (1990–) | |||||
