Abdullah al-Sallal

Abdullah Yahya al-Sallal (Arabic: عبد الله يحيى السلال, romanized: ʿAbd Allāh Yaḥyā al-Sallāl; 9 January 1917 – 5 March 1994) was the leader of the North Yemeni Revolution of 1962. He served as the first President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 27 September 1962 to 5 November 1967.[1]

Abdullah al-Sallal
Al-Sallal in 1963
1st President of Yemen Arab Republic
In office
26 September 1962 – 5 November 1967
Prime MinisterHimself
Abdul Latif Dayfallah
Abdul Rahman al-Iryani
Hassan al-Amri
Hamoud al-Gayifi
Hassan al-Amri
Ahmad Muhammad Numan
Hassan al-Amri
Preceded byPosition established (Muhammad al-Badr as King and Imam Of Yemen)
Succeeded byAbdul Rahman al-Eryani
Prime Minister of Yemen Arab Republic
In office
28 September 1962 – 26 April 1963
PresidentHimself
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAbdul Latif Dayfallah
In office
6 July 1965 – 21 July 1965
PresidentHimself
Preceded byAhmad Muhammad Numan
Succeeded byHassan al-Amri
In office
18 September 1966 – 5 November 1967
PresidentHimself
Preceded byHassan al-Amri
Succeeded byMohsin Ahmad al-Aini
Personal details
Born(1917-01-09)9 January 1917
Sanaa, Yemen Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Died5 March 1994(1994-03-05) (aged 77)
Sanaa, Yemen
Political partyNone (Military)
Military service
Allegiance North Yemen 1962–1990
 Yemen 1990–1994
Branch/serviceNorth Yemeni Army
RankField Marshal

Early life

Al-Sallal was born in the village of Sha'asan, Sanhan district, in Sanaa Governorate. His father died when he was young. Al-Sallal was sent to the only orphanage in Sanaa, known as the Orphan School, which later became famous for raising many of Yemen's greatest patriots and some of the most influential politicians of that era.

In the late 1930s, he completed his military education in Baghdad, Iraq. He became a second lieutenant at this time.[2]

Though not a member of the social elite in Yemen, Al-Sallal was widely respected by the military community as a competent and brazen officer despite being the son of a butcher, a profession looked down upon prior to the revolution.

Political career
Abdullah al-Sallal in a military display, March 1963
A_meeting_between_Yemen_represented_by_President_Abdullah_AL_Sallal_and_Egypt_headed_by_Abdel_Nasser_14_July_1964
Al-Sallal with Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser in a joint meeting, July 1964

Al-Sallal led the revolutionary forces that deposed King Muhammad al-Badr and brought the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen to an end. He presided over the newly founded Yemen Arab Republic (YAR), with close ties to Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt which served as the Yemen Arab Republic's strongest ally in the war against the Saudi Arabian-backed Mutawakkilite royalists that lasted into 1970.

Yemen's President Abdullah al-Sallal negotiated with tribal leaders after the revolution to help cement the republic. He was later ousted in a bloodless coup led by Abdul Rahman Al-Iryani and exiled to Egypt, where he remained until President Ali Abdullah Saleh invited him to return in the early 1980s.[3]

Six different men held the position of Prime Minister under Al-Sallal, including Al-Sallal himself three times. He held both titles from the formation of the republic until 26 April 1963, when he appointed Abdul Latif Dayfallah, as well as briefly in 1965 and from 18 September 1966 until the end of his presidency. Abdul Rahman al-Eryani, al-Sallal's successor to the presidency in 1967, served as Prime Minister in 1963 and 1964. Hassan al-Amri held the post three times.

References
  1. "'Abd Allah as-Sallal: Encyclopaedia Britannica". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  2. "Remembering My Grandfather, Who Toppled the Imamate in Yemen; Abdullah Al-Sallal was a revolutionary who toppled the Imamate in North Yemen and proclaimed a republic in 1962. Here, his granddaughter remembers what he was like, as he struggled to remake his country". 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  3. "Abdullah Al-Salal Dies in Yemen at 74; Led 1962 Uprising". Obituaries. The New York Times. Reuters. 6 March 1994. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
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