Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Mahmoud al-Subaihi ( ar, محمود الصبيحي) 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 military officer. He served in the cabinet 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 ...

as defence minister. In the

Yemen Army 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 north and Oman to the northeast and s ...

, he holds the rank of major general. He was appointed to head the Ministry of Defence by Prime Minister Khaled Bahah in November 2014.

Biography

al-Subaihi was born in 1948 in Huwaireb, Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah District, Lahij Governorate. He had 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 military science from the

military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

in Aden in 1976, then he studied

Master's 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 the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

from 1978 to 1982. Later on, he fought along with

Ali Salem al Beidh Ali Salem al-Beidh ( ar, علي سالم البيض, translit=‘Alī Sālim al-Bīḍ; born 10 February 1939) is a Yemeni politician who served as the General Secretary of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) in South Yemen and as Vice President ...

during the 1994 Yemeni Civil War. al-Subaihi was placed under house arrest by the

Houthis 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 ...

in January 2015, during their

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

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 Gover ...

. He resigned on 22 January, but after the Houthis' "constitutional declaration" on 6 February, in which they dissolved

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and officially took control of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

, he was appointed to head the Houthi government's Supreme Security Committee. He attended the announcement of the constitutional declaration in Sana'a. On 7 March, however, he fled Sana'a and traveled to Lahij Governorate, eventually joining President Hadi in Aden. Jalal al-Rowaishan was appointed to succeed him as chairman of the Houthi-appointed Supreme Security Committee. Forces commanded by al-Subaihi participated in the

Battle of Aden Airport The Battle of Aden International Airport broke out in the early morning hours of 19 March 2015, when Yemen Army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked the airport in Aden, Yemen. The airport was defended by soldiers and guar ...

on 19 March 2015, repelling special units loyal to former 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 ...

from

Aden International Airport Aden International Airport is an international airport in Aden, Yemen and the oldest airport in the Arabian peninsula. Prior to its use as a civil air facility, the aerodrome was known as RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an ...

and capturing an adjacent military base. They also fought against a Houthi military advance through the Lahij Governorate, where al-Subaihi was reportedly captured on 25 March 2015 in Al Houtah.

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 ...

cited Houthi and tribal sources reporting that he was released on 22 April, amid the start of Operation Restoring Hope. In October 2018,

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

reported that it convinced the Houthis to allow al-Subaihi to contact his family for the first time in three years.

References

Living people Defense ministers of Yemen Yemeni politicians Yemeni generals 1948 births People from Lahij Governorate Yemeni military personnel of the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) {{Yemen-politician-stub Ministry of Defense (Yemen)