Yemen Arab Republic
Yemen Arab Republic | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–1990 | |||||||||
| Anthem: "Peace to the Land" (1962–1978) إرادة أمة 'Iiradat 'Uma "A Nation's Will" (1978–1990) | |||||||||
Location of North Yemen (red) | |||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Sanaa | ||||||||
| Official languages | Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam (official, predominantly Zaydi Shia and Shafi'i Sunni Islam) | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Yemeni | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary Nasserist Islamic republic
| ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1962–1967 (first) | Abdullah al-Sallal | ||||||||
• 1967–1974 | Abdul Rahman al-Eryani | ||||||||
• 1974–1977 | Ibrahim al-Hamdi | ||||||||
• 1977–1978 | Ahmad al-Ghashmi | ||||||||
• 1978–1990 (last) | Ali Abdullah Saleh | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1962–1963 (first) | Abdullah al-Sallal | ||||||||
• 1983–1990 (last) | Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani | ||||||||
| Legislature | Consultative Council | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| 26 September 1962 | |||||||||
| 1 December 1970 | |||||||||
| 22 May 1990 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 136,000 km2 (53,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• Estimate | 6,000,000 (1970) | ||||||||
| Currency | North Yemeni rial | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+3 | ||||||||
| Calling code | +967 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Yemen | ||||||||
| |||||||||
.svg){kind=link}
The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; Arabic: الجمهورية العربية اليمنية al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘arabiyyah al-Yamaniyyah, French: République arabe du Yémen), commonly known as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a country that existed from 1962 until its unification with the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (commonly known as South Yemen) in 1990, in the northwestern part of what is now Yemen. Its capital was at Sana'a. It bordered the South Yemen to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the north and Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime borders with Djibouti and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The Yemen Arab Republic was formed in 1962, when a coup in the capital Sana'a saw Nasserist military officers overthrow the monarchy and proclaim a republic. The overthrow triggered an 8-year civil war that ended with the defeat of the monarchists and the victory of pro-republican forces. The following years were marked by political instability, civil conflicts, frequent political assassinations and military coups: the country was ruled by a military junta from 1962 to 1967 and again from 1974 to 1978. Relative stability began with the rise to power of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was able to successfully consolidate his position in the government. The YAR eventually managed to establish good relations with many Arab states and the United States, for which it served as a counterweight to communist South Yemen, but it maintained ties with the USSR, relying on the weapons it purchased from it. On May 22, 1990, the YAR united with the PDRY (South Yemen) to form the current Republic of Yemen, under the leadership of Saleh.