| Part of theend of the Cold War | |
 | |
| Native name | al-waḥda al-Yamaniyyaالوحدة اليمنية |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 May 1990 (1990-05-22) |
| Location |  Yemen Arab Republic People's Democratic Republic of Yemen |
| Cause |
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| Outcome | Unification of Yemen
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| Part ofa series on the |
| History of Yemen |
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TheYemeni unification[a] took place on 22 May 1990, when thePeople's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) and theYemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) united, forming theRepublic of Yemen.[1]
North Yemen became anindependent Kingdom in the context of thedissolution of theOttoman Empire in November 1918.Aden, in South Yemen, was administered as a British protectorate and in 1937 became aBritish colony in its own right. The larger part of South Yemen was a Britishprotectorate, effectively under colonial control. In one of the manyproxy conflicts of theCold War, aSouth Yemeni insurgency (with the support and backing of theSoviet Union) led by two nationalist parties revolted, causing theUnited Kingdom to unify the area and in 1967 to withdraw from its former colony.
Following theNorth Yemen Civil War, the north overthrew the monarchy and established aNasseristrepublican government led by a military junta that included tribal representatives. It enjoyed modest oil revenues and remittances from its citizens working in the oil-richArab states of the Persian Gulf. Its population in the 1980s was estimated at 12 million as opposed to 3 million in South Yemen.[2]
South Yemen developed as a mostly secular[3] society ruled first by theNational Liberation Front, which later morphed into the rulingYemeni Socialist Party. The only avowedly communist nation in the Middle East,South Yemen received significant foreign aid and other assistance from the Soviets.[4]
In October 1972, fighting erupted between north and south; North Yemen was supplied by Saudi Arabia, and South Yemen was supplied by the Soviet Union. Fighting was short-lived, and the conflict led to the 28 October 1972 Cairo Agreement, which set forth a plan to unify the two countries.[5][6]
Fighting broke out again in February and March 1979, with South Yemen allegedly supplying aid to rebels in the north by theNational Democratic Front and crossing the border.[7] Southern forces made it as far as the city ofTaiz before withdrawing.[8][9] Again, North Yemen was supported byanticommunistSaudi Arabia andTaiwan, and secretly in the name of theRoyal Saudi Air Force from 1979 to 1990. This conflict was also short-lived.[10]
In the late 1980s, oil exploration near the border between the two nations – theMarib Governorate in the North and theShabwah Governorate in the South – spurred interest in developing agreements to exploit resources there and lift both nations' economies.[11] In May 1988, the two governments came to an understanding that considerably reduced tensions, including agreements to renew discussions concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along their undefined border, now called the Joint Investment Area, by theHunt Oil Company andExxon.[12] The same month, they formed the Yemeni Company for Investment in Mineral and Oil Resources (YCIMOR).[13]
In November 1989,Ali Abdullah Saleh of North Yemen andAli Salem al Beidh of South Yemen jointly accepted a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981, which included a demilitarized border and border passage by Yemenis on the sole basis of a national identification card and a capital city inSanaa.
TheRepublic of Yemen was declared on 22 May 1990.[1]Ali Abdullah Saleh of the north becameHead of State, andAli Salim al-Beidh of the south becameHead of Government. A 30-month transitional period for completing the unification of the two political and economic systems was set. A presidential council was jointly elected by the 26-member Yemen Arab Republic advisory council and the 17-member People's Democratic Republic of Yemen presidium. The presidential council appointed a Prime Minister, who formed a Cabinet. There was also a 301-seat provisional unified parliament, consisting of 159 members from the north, 111 members from the south, and 31 independent members appointed by the chairman of the council.
A unity constitution was agreed upon in May 1990 andratified by the populace in May 1991. It affirmed Yemen's commitment to free elections, a multiparty political system, the right to own private property, equality under the law, and respect of basic human rights.Parliamentary elections were held on 27 April 1993. International groups assisted in the organization of the elections and observed actual balloting. The resulting Parliament included 143General People's Congress, 69Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), 63Islah (the nation's largest Islamist party), 6Ba'athists, 3Nasserist Unionist People's Organisation, 2Al Haq, and 15 independents. The new parliament represented the North strongly. The YSP, though it had won the most seats in voting in the less populated south, was considered a minor part of the new coalition government.[14] The head of Islah,Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar, became the speaker of Parliament. Islah was invited into the ruling coalition, and the presidential council was altered to include one Islah member.
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_soldiers_and_a_tank_during_the_Yemeni_civil_war_in_1994.jpg)
Conflicts within the coalition resulted in the self-imposed exile of Vice President Ali Salim al-Beidh to Aden beginning in August 1993 and a deterioration in the general security situation as political rivals settled scores and tribal elements took advantage of the unsettled situation.Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, the former Southern Prime Minister, continued to serve as Yemen'sPrime Minister, but his government was ineffective due to political infighting. Continuous negotiations between northern and southern leaders resulted in the signing of the document of pledge and accord inAmman,Jordan on 20 February 1994. Despite this, clashes intensified until civil war broke out in early May 1994. Significantly, one of the institutions that had not yet unified was the military arms of both nations.
Southern leaders seceded and established theDemocratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on 21 May 1994, but the new state was not recognized by the international community.Ali Nasir Muhammad, the exiled South Yemen leader, assisted military operations against the secessionists.[15]
Aden was captured on 7 July 1994. Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.
In the aftermath of the civil war,Yemeni Socialist Party leaders within Yemen reorganized the party and elected a newpolitburo in July 1994. However, the party remained disheartened and without its former influence. Islah held a party convention in September 1994. TheGeneral People's Congress did the same in June 1995.
In 1994,amendments to the unity constitution eliminated the presidential council. President Ali Abdallah Saleh was elected by Parliament on 1 October 1994 to a 5-year term. The constitution provided that henceforth the President is to be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates selected by the legislature.
Adopting a Western style governmental system, Yemen held its first directpresidential elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to a 5-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections.[citation needed] Yemen held its second multipartyparliamentary elections in April 1997. Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the presidential term by two years, thus moving the next presidential elections to 2006. The amendments also extended the parliamentary term of office to a 6-year term, thus moving elections for these seats to 2003. On 20 February 2001, a new constitutional amendment created abicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote). Yemen is now adominant-party system with theGeneral People's Congress in power.
Friction and troubles continued, elements in the south perceive unfair treatment by the north.[16] This has given birth to a popular movement called theSouth Yemen Movement which calls for the return of an independent southern state.[17] In 2015, this time as a pawn in the proxy war betweenSaudi Arabia and Iran, Yemen again was engulfed incivil war, which continues to this day.
YE,alpha-3:YEM), as opposed to the South's (alpha-2:YD, alpha-3:YMD); a newnumeric code was assigned for the unified country (887) to replace the old numeric codes (North:886; South:720), as is the custom for any merging of countries.Yemen articles | ||||||||
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