Yemen names 34-member cabinet, includes three women

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council has approved the formation of a new government headed by Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani, featuring a 34-member cabinet that includes three women, the state-run Saba News Agency reported on February 6.

According to foreign media reports, Al-Zindani will also assume the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. Key appointments in the new cabinet include Maamar Motahar al-Eryani as Information Minister, Major General Ibrahim Ali Ahmed Haidan as Interior Minister, and Major General Taher Ali Obeidah al-Oqaili as Defence Minister.

The female ministers named in the cabinet are Afrah Abdulaziz al-Zouba as Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Ahd Mohammed Salem Jaasous as Minister of State for Women’s Affairs, and Judge Ishraq Fadl al-Maqtari.

According to the Presidential Leadership Council, the government’s formation was carried out in accordance with Yemen’s constitution, the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative and its implementation mechanism signed in 2011, and the 2022 decision transferring presidential powers to the council. The council described the decision as being made in the interest of Yemen’s “supreme national interest.”

The new cabinet succeeds the government of former Prime Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, who resigned on May 3, 2025, and whose administration did not include any female ministers.

The government’s establishment follows months of consultations held in Riyadh aimed at reducing tensions between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which announced its dissolution on January 9. The talks were intended to create a consensus framework for managing the next phase of governance in the country.

Yemen has also been facing a six-year conflict between government forces and the Houthis, which has triggered one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. According to the United Nations, roughly 80% of the population—about 30 million people—depend on humanitarian assistance.

By Tamilla Hasanova