Prime Minister Khaled Bahah Name Mahmoud al-Subaihi Rank Major General | Allegiance Yemen Succeeded by Hussein Khairan | |
Major general Mahmoud al-Subaihi (Arabic: محمود الصبيحي) is a Yemeni military officer. He serves in the cabinet of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi as defence minister. In the Yemen Army, he holds the rank of major general. He was appointed to head the Ministry of Defence by Prime Minister Khaled Bahah in November 2014.
Al-Subaihi was placed under house arrest by the Houthis in January 2015, during their coup d'état in Sana'a. He resigned on 22 January, but after the Houthis' "constitutional declaration" on 6 February, in which they dissolved parliament and officially took control of the government, 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 on 19 March 2015, repelling special units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh from Aden International Airport 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 cited Houthi and tribal sources reporting that he was released on 22 April, amid the start of Operation Restoring Hope.
According to the Yemen Times, al-Subaihi is from Lahij Governorate.