Nihal Ali al-Awlaqi

Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi (alternative spellings: Nihal Naji Ali Al Awlaki, Nehal Al-Awlaqi) (Arabic: نهال ناجي علي العولقي ) is a Yemeni lawyer. She is Yemen's Minister of Legal Affairs. In 2016 she received the International Women of Courage Award.

Life

Al-Awlaqi is from the Shabwah Governorate in Yemen. She received a Bachelor of Legal Sciences, Master of Law and Doctor of Laws degrees from Mohammed V University in Morocco. She speaks Arabic, English, and French.

Al-Awlaqi became an assistant law professor at the University of Aden, where she worked on research and training on the status of women. In 2013-14 she was a member of the State-Building Working Group of the National Dialogue Conference. In March 2014 she was appointed a member of the constitution drafting committee (CDC), and was subsequently elected deputy chair of the CDC. She was a member of the government negotiating team in Geneva.

In January 2016 she was announced as Minister of Legal Affairs. On September 9, 2016, Yemen President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi officially appointed al-Awaqi, then 39 years old, as Minister of Legal Affairs ( وزيراً للشؤون القانونية ).