Presidential Leadership Council

The Presidential Leadership Council (PLC; Arabic: مجلس القيادة الرئاسي, romanized: Majlis al-Qiyādah al-Riʼāsī) is the executive body of Yemen's internationally recognized government, formed on 7 April 2022. It is chaired by Rashad al-Alimi and initially had a membership of eight, including representatives from the Southern Transitional Council (STC). The decree claims all powers of the president and vice president have been transferred to this council. However, it also vests the chairman with sweeping personal powers, including the ability to unilaterally command the military and appoint governors and other key officials.

As of May 2023, three of the eight seats in the Presidential Leadership Council were held by members of the Southern Transitional Council.

In December 2025, Saudi Arabian forces guarding the PLC's headquarters in Aden withdrew from the city amid the STC's takeover, with Saudi Arabian-aligned members of the Council—including chairman Rashad al-Alimi—leaving along with them, while the STC asserted that "The institutional makeup remains unchanged." On 22 December 2025, four non-STC members of the Presidential Leadership Council resolved to suspend any public official who supported southern succession. STC leader Aidarus al-Zoubaidi was dismissed from the council on 7 January 2026. STC vice-chairman Faraj Al-Bahsani was also dismissed from the council on 15 January 2026, with al-Alimi citing evidence that Al-Bahsani had mobilized southern troops to be deployed in Hadramaut in December 2025.

In a decree dating to 15 January 2026, al-Alimi appointed Mahmoud al-Subaihi and Salem al-Khanbashi as members of the council to fill in the vacancies of al-Zoubaidi and Al-Bahsani.