[23/July/2009]

By: Researches and Information Center

Translated and edited by: Mahmoud Assamiee

SANA'A, July 23 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh was born to modest rural family in March 21, 1946. He loved his homeland so much. This love made him elected president to the country in a first time in which Yemen has elected president.

Knowing Saleh closer, you will discover how much this man is concerned about issues of his people and his country and to what extent that period of time formed basic part of his personality as a unique political leader.

In a difficult social and economic situation, Saleh was brought up. He received his first holly Koran education in Bait al-Ahmar village. He lost his father while he was at nine. His father was foreseeing in him energy and manhood. He joined the army while he was at 12.

The political component of President Ali Abdullah Saleh is a mixture of rural life that maintains pure nature and consideration of uniqueness so that he was not dragged by any foreign political and ideological loyalties.

Since his early national duties, Saleh was trustful and confidential to handle security and stability of his citizens. He was one of the six battalion in charge of protecting security in part of Sana'a city before the 26 of September Revolution in 19962.

When the revolution broke out, Saleh was among non-commissioned officers and soldiers who were authorized to break into the palace of al-Badr (the son of killed Imam) to protect public possessions against looting.

With announcing the republican system, conflict between republican and imamates intensified so that battles and fronts expanded along the country. There was a need to one like Ali Abdullah Saleh to be one of the men to defend the revaluation and the republic.

In that time, the republican leader Saleh authorized by the revolution leadership to head to Khawlan area leading his battalion and fought battles reflected his deep believe in his homeland and the revolution and its aims.

Then in Assabieen's Siege, Saleh raised as courageous fighter and a hero leader among ranks of the besieged republican forces while they were defending the capital Sana'a. Saleh emerged in this battle as one of victory's heroes.

In appreciation to efforts of Sergeant Ali Abdullah Saleh at that time and his courage in defending the revolution and the republic across the country, he was promoted from non-commissioned officer to lieutenant.

In 1964, Saleh attended School of Armors to specialize in armors. He then occupied several military posts until he became commander of Taiz brigade and commander of Khaled bin Alwalid Camp from 1975 till 1978. During this period, Saleh has shown unique ability to manage security affairs and supreme national interests.

This skill pushed him to be seen as qualified leader to manage affairs of the whole country. So that in the 17th of July, 1978, he has been elected by Assha'ab Council as a president to Yemen to maintain the title President Ali Abdullah Saleh along the period of the 31 years of his rule.

In this time President Saleh has approved his courage to take the presidency in difficult times witnessing absence of stability in the country and in a time of killings and assassinations of the country's leaders.

He came to office after several weeks of the great shock Yemen has faced; assassinating former president Ahmad al-Ghashmi and before him President Ibrahim al-Hamdi. These incidents led to more collapse and instability so that many politicians expressed their compassions with Yemeni situation and the aftermath of more deterioration.

With increase of determination in the Yemen's Northern Part called then Yemen Arab Republic and the differences with Southern Part; Yemen Democratic and People Republic, challenges began and there was a need to savior authority in Sana'a to put an end to general disorder in the country's institutions and the army. The authority had to unify forces and trends which were concerns on protecting the country against collapse and to limit interference of foreign forces in domestic affairs and to avoid regular assassinations of Yemen's presidents with support from foreign hands.

In those conditions, Yemenis emerged as they were not controlling their country's affairs and that the authority in Sana'a was not well protected. That means Yemen was "bitter republic" after al-Ghashmi assassination and Ali Abdullah Saleh come to office in a country full of conflicts.

Ali Abdullah Saleh was a member of provisional presidential council composed of Abdul-Karim al-Arashi, the head of Al-Sha'ab Council, Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani, the Prime Minister and Ali Saleh Asshaibah the Chairman of Staff.

After announcing Presidency Council, Ali Abdullah Saleh promoted to Major and then appointed deputy to the General Commander and Chairman of Staff, while Major Asshaibah has been appointed commander to military forces. This assortment of Presidential Council led the country to escape political impasse and prepare for electing new president to the country.

On foreign level, the situation was intensified between Yemen and nearly one third of Arab countries affiliated with social camp then. The new president has then other duties; creating new relations with foreign world and then stopping its interference in his country's affairs. He had also to realize reconciliation between conflicting fronts in the country.

He was able to restore balance and stability in Yemeni political system and he was also able to root then Yemen Arab Republic. He adopted dialogue approach and public participation in decision making and he announced that intention in his first address.

"First of all, I want to show that as a person, I believe dialogue is the ideal approach to solve differences and settle disputes. Our keenness on dialogue with all national categories and sectors comes from conviction not drives from necessity and turmoil. Our dialogue is not limited on a category or a group but includes all," he said in his first address.

He approved his intention on adopting this early approach in his decision issued in May 1980 when he formed the national dialogue committee as expanded one included 51 members form intellectuals, educated, members of Assha'ab Council and members from national forces and trends. The committee nearly included all political forces and parties existed formally.

Then, in 1982, this committee drafted the national charter and presented to the First People Conference that approved the charter in its final formula in August 1982 to become a national political document.

President Saleh's ruling era since the early beginning has been characterized by growing political maturity, he is the first Yemeni president comes to office by democracy. "There is no other approach than democracy because it is the people's choice and the right of populace to govern themselves."

Since his early rule, president Saleh faced a war between Yemen's two parts in 1979 amid explosive regional atmospheres. Arab League has issued a resolution to freeze relations with the South of Yemen because of President Al-Ghashmi's assassination in the north and due to extension of leftist dimension. In Ethiopia, the new Marxist government practiced butcherly approach against her citizens and neighbors in the east of Arab Peninsula were living in increasingly tensions because of revolution's escalation in Iran and Jihad in Afghanistan where Soviet Union had directed interference in Cabul for supporting communism.

In that hot atmosphere, second confrontation between the two country's parts has been erupted. President Ali Abdullah Saleh could change the crisis between the two parts into great political triumph by seeking to unify the two parts via his communication with Arab and international factors. His keenness on easing atmospheres and stopping the war pushed him to seek for unity.

Indeed, the president's policy has succeeded in containing the crisis and Arab countries formed mediation committee to end differences and tensions between the two parts. These efforts resulted in an agreement to ceasefire, working on withdrawing armed forces of the two parts and creating suitable atmosphere to complete the halted unification work. So Kuwait called for holding instant summit for which the country hosted the two presidents Ali Abdullah Saleh of the north of Yemen and Abdul-Fatah Ismail of the south.

Hence, experience of President Saleh has been raised in the period prior to the summit by conditioning atmospheres in way ensuring the summit's success and resuming unitary dialogue between the two parts. The first step Saleh took for this purpose was he sacked Foreign Minister in the north Abdullah al-Asnaj from the office because of his hostility to the system in Aden a week before holding the summit.

During the period of the unitary work, President Saleh's vision was right due to his wise understanding to unity and political integration preceded by social and economic merger. He paid attention to international dimension associated with the unity issues to neutralize international objections could happen during announcing the Republic of Yemen.

After Yemen' reunification in the 22nd of May 1990, Saleh faced challenge during the provisional period and political crisis which was ended with war announcing separation. The challenge was the necessary war for defending the unity in 1994 described by Saleh as "exceptional case and a price had to be paid for realizing the unity."


The president has depended on dialogue as a basic protocol in dealing with crisis and rights considering dialogue "the ideal way to cure all issues and settle all disputes for reaching the best. We have to work together to respect other opinions and to make our mottos coincide our practices."

The following is the Saleh's C.V.

-Name: Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh, the President of the Republic of Yemen

-Date of Birth: March 21, 1946 Place of Birth: Sanhan village, Sana'a governorate

-Political Party: General People's Congress

- He is married and a father of several sons (Ahmed is the eldest)

- He joined the armed forces in 1958.

- He joined the Military Academy in 1960

- He joined all battles before the revolution in different areas of Yemen

- In 1963 he was granted the rank of 2nd lieutenant

- He was one of the heroes in the 70-day siege in Sana'a

- He was the commander of Khalid Bin al-Walid military camp in Taiz (1975-1978)

- He represented Yemen alone and with others in many international events and official visits to brotherly and friendly countries.

- He was appointed member of the provisional presidency council and deputy chief of general staff after the assassination of President Ahmad al-Ghashmi on 24 June 1978.

- On 17 July 1978, he was elected a president of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and General Commander of the Armed Forces.

- On 17 September 1979, based on a collective decision of all leaders and personnel of the Armed Forces in appreciation of his efforts to build and develop the Armed Forces and Security on modern bases, he was granted the rank of Colonel.

- He was elected the secretary-general of the General People’s Congress party on the 30th of August 1982.

- On 1983, he was re-elected president of the Yemen Arab Republic and Commander of the Armed Forces by the people-elected Consultative Council.

- On 17 July, he was re-elected president of the Yemen Arab Republic and the General Commander of the Armed Forces.

- On 20 May, 1990, the Shura council unanimously granted him the rank of General in appreciation of his great efforts for the reunification of the nation.

- On 22 May 1990, he raised the flag of the Republic of Yemen in the city of Aden to officially declare the re-unification of Yemen (north and south). On the same day, he was elected president of the Presidential Council of the reunified Yemen (Republic of Yemen).

- He was re-elected President of the Presidential Council on October 16, 1993, after the first parliamentary election in Yemen.

- He could challenge all attempts to re-divide the nation by the secessionist conspiracy. He led battles to defend Yemen's Unity and safeguard democracy during the war of Summer 1994 until victory was achieved on July 7, 1994.

- He was elected president of the Republic of Yemen by the Parliament on October 1st, 1994, after constitutional amendments approved by the Parliament.

- On December 24, 1997, he was granted the rank of Marshal by the Parliament in appreciation of his contribution to build the modern state.

- He was first directly elected president of the Republic of Yemen on 23 September, 1999, winning 96.2% of the vote, in an internationally observed election.

- On February 20, 2001, a referendum was held and passed, extending presidential terms from five to seven years, parliamentary terms from four to six years, and creating a 111-member Shura council, appointed by the president.

- In the 2006 presidential election, held on September 20, Saleh won with 77.2% of the votes. His main rival, Faisal bin Shamlan, got only 21.8%. According to the US State Department, "Yemen and President Saleh, who did win re-election in those elections, should be congratulated on the fact that they ran some good elections that met international criteria for free and fair elections." Saleh was sworn in for another term on September 27.

Strategic development achievements took place under his leadership:

- The rebuilding of Marib great dam,

- The extraction of oil and gas,

- The establishment of the free-zone in Aden,

- He is the founder of modern state of Yemen based on democratic basis, political pluralism and freedom of the press, respect for Human Rights and the peaceful transfer of power.


Saba