Yemen appoints new prime minister after Ahmad bin Mubarak resigns

Protesters have been demanding accountability for deteriorating public services

Ahmad bin Mubarak, left, will be replaced by Salem Saleh Salem bin Brek, right. Yemeni Foreign Ministry / X

Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmad bin Mubarak has resigned amid pressure to reform the country's leadership and public demands for improved services.

In a statement published on X, Mr bin Mubarak said he had faced challenges in his role, including a limited ability to make the “necessary reforms” of state institutions.

“I ask God to grant success to whoever succeeds me, and I call on everyone to support him and rally around him to fulfil his duties in these difficult circumstances that our country is going through,” he wrote.

He has a good reputation – and is distant from corruption within the government

Yemeni source on new PM Salem bin Brek

Calls for Mr bin Mubarak's resignation have been mounting after accusations of corruption and misappropriation of resources were reflected in Yemen's streets as protests broke out over the country's economic crisis.

Power cuts of up to 20 hours a day have exacerbated people's anger, especially during the high temperatures of early summer.

Demonstrators have demanded accountability for deteriorating services and living conditions. Inflation has also been an issue for Yemenis, who have put the blame on the government and its leadership.

Yemen has been fragmented by war between the Houthi rebels who took over the capital Sanaa in 2014 and a Saudi-led coalition that helped regain territory captured by the group.

A soldier stands behind a machine gun on the back of a vehicle during a patrol in Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis. EPA

Since 2022, an eight-member Presidential Leadership Council has been in power, led by Rashad Al Alimi, and is the internationally recognised government of the country.

A source close to the government, which sits in Aden, told The National on Saturday that Mr bin Mubarak's replacement would be the Minister of Finance, Salem Saleh Salem bin Brek. Yemen's presidential council later confirmed Mr bin Brek's appointment in a statement.

“He has a good reputation – and is distant from corruption within the government,” the source said.

Mr bin Mubarak was appointed premier in February last year after serving as foreign minister. He came to prominence in 2015 when he was kidnapped by Houthi militiamen while serving as Yemen's presidential chief of staff during the Houthis' conflict with then-president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

In recent weeks the US has been intensifying air strikes to destroy Houthi military assets and deter the Iran-aligned rebels from attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The deadly strikes on the group since March have been the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since US President Donald Trump took office in January.