Hussein Khairan
| Hussein Khairan | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Defence of Yemen | |
|
Assumed office 22 March 2015 | |
| President | Mohammed Ali al-Houthi |
| Preceded by | Mahmoud al-Subaihi[note 1] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Yemen Houthis (from 2015) |
| Rank | Major General[1] |
| |
Hussein Nagi Khairan is a Yemeni military officer. He serves as defence minister for the Houthi-appointed government of Yemen, having been appointed on 22 March 2015 after the defection of Mahmoud al-Subaihi to the internationally recognised government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in Aden. According to a Houthi political official, Khairan's appointment placed him in direct command of all military units except for those loyal to Hadi.[2] He reportedly took charge of the military offensive against Hadi's holdouts in southern Yemen.[1]
Khairan previously served from 1993 to 2014 as commander of the 1st Marine Infantry Brigade on Socotra.[2] In December 2014, Hadi named him as chief of staff of the Yemen Army.[3] However, the Houthi militants that occupied Sana'a earlier that year blocked him from entering the defence ministry.[4] Hadi officially fired Khairan as army chief of staff on 5 April, weeks after he switched sides to join the Houthis' ranks.[5]
References
- 1 2 "Rebel Fighters Advance Into Yemen’s Third-Largest City". Bloomberg. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- 1 2 Al-Homaid, Fareed (23 March 2015). "HOUTHIS APPOINT NEW DEFENSE MINISTER". The Yemen Times. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ "Yemen military chief fired as wave of bombings targets Houthis". Al-Akhbar. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ↑ Ghobari, Mohammed (16 December 2014). "Houthis block Yemen army chief, accuse president of corruption". Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ Brumfield, Ben (6 April 2015). "Death toll rises quickly as conflict rages in Yemen". CNN. Retrieved 9 April 2015.