The Diplomat
The Government has appointed Jorge Hevia as ambassador to Yemen, although residing in Riyadh, who has also been ambassador to Saudi Arabia since October 2021. The decision was adopted yesterday at the meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Spain closed its Embassy in Yemen in 2012, after the Executive of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero opened it in 2006, with Marcos Vega as ambassador, who was replaced in 2010 by Francisco Javier Hergueta. In 2012, the Government of Mariano Rajoy decided, for economic reasons, to close the diplomatic representation, leaving a chargé d’affaires in the Delegation of the European Union in Sana’a.
When the civil war broke out in 2015, the Government decided to repatriate all of its staff in Yemen, given the instability that reigned in the country. Matters relating to Yemen were handled from the Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Egypt, but no non-resident ambassadors were appointed.
Yesterday, the Council of Ministers took the step of appointing Jorge Hevia as ambassador in Sana’a, although with residence in Riyadh. Hevia has also been ambassador in El Salvador and delegate of Spain to the Organization of American States (OAS), based in Washington.
The internationally recognized Yemeni government, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, and which is subject to harassment by the Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, has tried in recent months to achieve the return of European ambassadors to the country. , but I have not obtained many successes, due to the continued instability of the situation. The rebels control the capital, Sanaa while the Government is in the city of Aden.
