Watan-The internationally recognized Yemeni government appointed Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak as the new Prime Minister of Yemen on Monday, surprising analysts who suggest it’s likely to anger the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
This appointment comes at a time of escalating tensions in the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, following a series of attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, leading to retaliatory strikes by the United States and Britain.
Yemen’s Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani, announced on Monday that the President of the Presidential Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, issued a decree appointing Ahmed bin Mubarak as Prime Minister, succeeding Maeen Abdulmalik.
The outgoing Prime Minister, Maeen Abdulmalik, will assume the role of advisor to the President of the Presidential Council, according to a later statement from the Yemeni Cabinet’s office on X’s website.
رئيس مجلس القيادة الرئاسي يصدر قراراً رئاسياً بتعيين الدكتور معين عبدالملك سعيد مستشاراً لرئيس مجلس القيادة الرئاسي.
— رئاسة مجلس الوزراء اليمني (@Yemen_PM) February 5, 2024
Ahmed bin Mubarak appointed as Prime Minister
Ahmed bin Mubarak, appointed as Prime Minister, stated in a post on his (X) account that he assumes the position “with determination and insistence on achieving tangible results in the lives of every Yemeni citizen.”
Bin Mubarak called on the Yemeni government and state institutions to “boost morale, unify efforts, and work in service of the nation and its citizens in this exceptional circumstance.”
He emphasized “the preservation of the traditions of state administration, upholding the law, ensuring public rights, and acting with a sense of responsibility.”
Strong opponent of the Houthis
According to the “Monitor” newspaper, Bin Mubarak, former Yemeni Ambassador to the United States, is widely regarded as a strong opponent of the Houthi rebels, who kidnapped him in 2015 and held him for several days while he was serving as the Chief of Staff of the Yemeni Presidency during a power struggle with President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
He previously served as Chief of Staff of the Yemeni Presidency and was appointed as the country’s envoy to the United Nations in 2018.
Mohammed Al-Basha, a Yemeni expert at the “Navanti” research group based in the United States, stated that Bin Mubarak is seen as one of the “architects of the Saudi-led coalition” that intervened against the Houthis in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government, after the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, a year earlier.
The expert added that his appointment “is likely to exacerbate tensions between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government” and that “the Houthis are unlikely to support the appointment of Bin Mubarak,” noting that Bin Mubarak has been a foe of the group for a long time.
اتقدم بعظيم الشكر والتقدير للقيادة السياسية ممثلة بفخامة الرئيس الدكتور رشاد العليمي وأعضاء مجلس القيادة الرئاسي على منحي الثقة وإصدار قرار تعييني رئيسا لمجلس الوزراء في هذا المنعطف التاريخي الهام لبلادنا الحبيبة.
اتولى اليوم هذا المنصب بعزيمة وإصرار على تحقيق نتائج ملموسة في…— Ahmed A. BinMubarak (@BinmubarakAhmed) February 5, 2024
Who is Ahmed bin Mubarak?
Ahmed bin Mubarak was born in Aden in 1968 and holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Baghdad. He is a professor at the University of Sanaa. He previously worked as a consultant for several international projects in Yemen in the fields of education, employment, and international development.
Bin Mubarak has chaired numerous administrative consultations, training courses, and workshops for various public and private associations in Yemen, Bahrain, Burundi, Ethiopia, Romania, the Netherlands, France, and Germany.
He also served as the head of the Department of Information Technology Management and Marketing and Production Management at the University of Science and Technology in Sanaa, as well as Director of Quality Assurance and Development from 2007 to 2009.