Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour ( ar, عبد العزيز بن حبتور; born 8 August 1955) is a

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

i politician who served as

Governor of Aden This is a list of British Empire, British colonial administrators of Aden from the 1839 Aden Expedition to the 1967 withdrawal from Aden. They were appointed from British Raj, British India until 1937 when the Chief Commissioner's Province of ...

during the

Houthi takeover in Yemen The Houthi takeover in Yemen, also known as the September 21 Revolution (by supporters), or 2014–15 coup d'état (by opponents), was a popular revolution against Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led by the Houthis and their supporters t ...

. He is a member of the General People's Congress, sitting on its permanent committee since 1995. An ally of President

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi ( ar, عبدربه منصور هادي, translit=ʿAbd Rabbih Manṣūr Hādī Yemeni pronunciation: ; born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the pres ...

, he condemned the 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état and received the deposed leader after his

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

from the

Houthi The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

-controlled capital of

Sanaa Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...

on 21 February 2015. He is also a vocal opponent of the

separatist movement Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

in the former

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

, saying the movement is too fractured and small to achieve its goals. In October 2016, bin Habtour was appointed as Prime Minister in the Houthi-led parallel government. Bin Habtour served as Deputy Minister of Education from 2001 to 2008 and subsequently as Rector of the

University of Aden The University of Aden is the first Yemeni university beside Sana'a university at the same year founded in the Republic of Yemen. History The foundation of the College of Education in 1970 and Nasser’s College for Agricultural Sciences in 1972 w ...

Personal life

Bin Habtour was born in 1955 in the

Shabwah Governorate Shabwah ( ar, شَبْوَة, Šabwa) is a governorate (province) of Yemen. Its main town is Ataq. During the Yemeni Civil War in 2015, the province became a battleground. The battle, known as the Shabwah Campaign, ended on August 15, 2015, af ...

, part of what was then the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ar, محمية عدن ') was a British protectorate in South Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut following the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India ...

. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in economics and administration from the

in 1981, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in economics from the

Berlin School of Economics and Law The Berlin School of Economics and Law (German: ''Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht''), abbreviated as BSEL, is a public institution of higher education and research founded on 1 April 2009 through the merger of the Berlin School of Economi ...

in 1988, and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

in 1992. He is married with five children.

Professional career

The

employed bin Habtour as a

prorector Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia. The academic rank ...

from 1994 to 2001. In 2001, President

Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh al-Ahmar (, ''ʿAlī ʿAbdullāh Ṣāliḥ al-Aḥmar;'' 21 March 1947There is a dispute as to Saleh's date of birth, some saying that it was on 21 March 1942. See: However, by Saleh's own confession, he was born in 1947 al ...

named bin Habtour to serve as

Deputy Minister of Education Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

, an office he held until 2008. Afterward, he became president and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

. President Hadi appointed bin Habtour as Governor of Aden by decree on 22 December 2014. He was sworn in three days later. As Aden's new governor, he confronted the unrest created by the

takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to t ...

in 2015, including a pro-separatist uprising in

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

seaport. He also met with Hadi after he fled to Aden from the capital of

Sana'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...

. At some point during the months-long battle for Aden in 2015, bin Habtour fled the city. In July, the Yemeni government-in-exile in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

announced the appointment of his former deputy,

Nayef al-Bakri Nayef al-Bakri ( ar, نايف صالح البكري; born 29 May 1975) is a Yemeni politician who serves as minister of youth and sports in the cabinet of Prime Minister Khaled Bahah. He was appointed in mid-September 2015, succeeding Rafat Al ...

, as governor.

Premiership

On 2 October 2016, he was appointed as Prime Minister by the Houthis. On 4 October, he formed his cabinet. The cabinet, which includes members of the

Southern Movement The Southern Movement ( ''al-Ḥirāk al-Janūbiyy''), sometimes known as the Southern Separatist Movement, or South Yemen Movement, or Aden Movement, and colloquially known as al-Hirak, is a political movement and paramilitary organization act ...

, is not internationally recognized. On 28 November 2016, a new cabinet was formed. On 13 December 2016, he accused

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

of war crimes against Yemen, by giving bombs to the Saudi-led coalition. On 5 April 2017, he tendered his resignation as Prime Minister by submitting it to the Supreme Political Council, according to sources close to him. This occurred after Houthi militiamen stormed the headquarters of the General Authority for Social Security and Pensions in Sana'a, reportedly taking over the establishment and seizing funds intended for pensioners.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:bin Habtour, Abdel-Aziz 1955 births General People's Congress (Yemen) politicians Governors of Aden Leipzig University alumni Living people People from Aden University of Aden alumni Yemeni educators