Mohammed Ali al-Houthi ( ar, محمد علي الحوثي; born 1979) 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 political figure who is the former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the
Revolutionary Committee or Revolutionary Council, a body formed by
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 ...
militants and the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' President of Yemen. He was one of the military field commanders who led the group's
seizure of the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 2014,
and eventually became the ''de facto'' leader of Yemen after the Houthi
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 ...
of the
Yemeni government
The Cabinet of Yemen refers to the governing body of the internationally recognized Yemen government led by the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi who replaced former President of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi on ...
in 2015. He is a cousin of
Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi
Abdul-Malik Badruldeen al-Houthi ( ar, عبد الملك بدر الدين الحوثي) is a Yemeni politician and religious leader who serves as the leader of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah), a revolutionary movement principally made up of ...
, the group's leader.
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.
However, other reports indicated the committee itself would serve as the presidential council.
Al-Houthi has been described as a "former political prisoner".
Presidency
Mahmoud Al-Junaid was named as director of the presidential office on 9 February 2015, although he declined to confirm to the ''
Yemen Times
The ''Yemen Times'' was an independent English-language newspaper in Yemen. The paper was published twice weekly.
History and profile
''Yemen Times'' was founded in 1991 by Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, a leading economist and human rights activist, who ...
'' whether he was working for them.
The newspaper ''
Asharq al-Awsat
''Asharq Al-Awsat'' ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, Aš-Šarq al-ʾAwsaṭ, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted ...
'' 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. The next day,
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
and other news outlets reported that
UN-led negotiations had produced a tentative agreement regarding the
Yemeni parliament, but it did not address the political dispute over the presidency.
On 21 March 2015, al-Houthi spoke at a meeting of the Revolutionary Committee, giving an address in which he said
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 ...
'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.
Al-Houthi was injured by a
Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...
strike in Sana'a during the first night of a
military intervention in Yemen led by
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 ...
on 25 March 2015, according to
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
.
Houthi-controlled state media reported in November 2015 that al-Houthi sent a letter to
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon calling on the UN to restrain the Saudi-led coalition and accusing the coalition of "war crimes" and "genocides" against Yemen.
On 15 August 2016, the
Supreme Revolutionary Committee
The Supreme Revolutionary Committee, sometimes referred to as the Revolutionary Council or the Revolutionary Committee, is an interim body in Yemen formed by the Zaidiyyah Shia group Ansar Allah (more commonly known as the Houthis). In their 6 Fe ...
handed power to the
Supreme Political Council
The Supreme Political Council (SPC; ar, المجلس السياسي الأعلى ''al-Majlis as-Siyāsiyy al-ʾAʿlā'') is a largely unrecognised executive body formed by the Houthi movement and the General People's Congress (GPC) to rule Y ...
.
International reactions
The
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and the
Gulf Cooperation Council
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...
refused to recognise the legitimacy of the Houthi declaration placing al-Houthi and the Revolutionary Committee in charge of Yemen's government. The
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
adopted a resolution on 15 February 2015 calling on the Houthis to relinquish control of state institutions, with Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon warning that Yemen teetered on the verge of
state failure
A failed state is a political body that has disintegrated to a point where basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly (see also fragile state and state collapse). A state can also fail if the go ...
.
On 9 November 2018, an opinion article by al-Houthi calling for peace in Yemen was published in ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''.
On 11 January 2021, the United States designated al-Houthi's movement as a "terrorist organization".
al-Houthi condemned the move by saying that the group "reserves its right to respond" to any designation by the
Trump administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
.
[ al-Houthi himself was also blacklisted by the United States government in the same measure.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houthi, Mohammed
1979 births
Yemeni military personnel of the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
Houthis
Leaders who took power by coup
Living people
Presidents of Yemen
Yemeni prisoners and detainees
Yemeni Zaydis
People from Saada Governorate