Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi

Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi (alternative spellings: Nihal Naji Ali Al Awlaki, Nehal Al-Awlaqi) (; born 1977) is a Yemeni lawyer. She was the Yemeni Minister of Legal Affairs from 9 January 2016 to 17 December 2020. 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. and was subsequently elected deputy chair of the CDC. She was a member of the government negotiating team in Geneva. She retained this role until 17 December 2020.