Yemenite reunification
Encyclopedia
Yemeni unification took place on May 22, 1990, when the area of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen — also referred to as South Yemen, Democratic Yemen or Yemen — was a socialist republic in the present-day southern and eastern Provinces of Yemen...

 (also known as South Yemen) was united with the Yemen Arab Republic
Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic , also known as North Yemen or Yemen , was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the western part of what is now Yemen...

 (also known as North Yemen), forming the Republic of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

.

Background

Unlike East and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 or North
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, the two Yemens were relatively friendly, though relations were often strained. Also unlike the Korean and German states, the two Yemen states were not formed by a civil war or occupation. North Yemen
North Yemen
North Yemen is a term currently used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic , its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.Neither state ever...

 became a state after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 in November 1918, whereas South Yemen had at that time been a British colony; a South Yemeni insurgency led by two nationalist parties revolted causing the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to withdraw from its former colony.

Following the North Yemen Civil War
North Yemen Civil War
The North Yemen Civil War was fought in North Yemen between royalists of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen and factions of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1962 to 1970. The war began with a coup d'état carried out by the republican leader, Abdullah as-Sallal, which dethroned the newly crowned Imam...

, the north established a republican government that included tribal representatives. It enjoyed modest oil revenues and remittances from its citizens working in the oil-rich Gulf States. Its population in the 1980s was estimated at 12 million as opposed to 3 million in South Yemen.

South Yemen developed as a Marxist, mostly secular society ruled first by the National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front (Yemen)
The National Liberation Front or NLF was a military organization operating in the Federation of South Arabia in the 60s. During the North Yemen Civil War fighting spilled over into South Yemen as the British tried to exit its Federation of South Arabia colony...

, which later morphed into the ruling Yemen Socialist Party. The only avowedly Marxist nation in the Middle East, South Yemen received significant foreign aid and other assistance from the USSR.

In October 1972 fighting erupted between north and south; North Yemen supplied by Saudi Arabia and South Yemen by the USSR. Fighting was short-lived and the conflict led to the October 28, 1972 Cairo Agreement, which set forth a plan to unify the two countries.

Fighting broke out again in February and March 1979, with South Yemen allegedly supplying aid to rebels in the north through the National Democratic Front
National Democratic Front (Yemen)
National Democratic Front was founded as an umbrella of various opposition movements in North Yemen on February 2, 1976 in San'a. The five founding organisations of NDF were the Revolutionary Democratic Party of Yemen, Organisation of Revolutionary Resistors of Yemen, the Labour Party, the Popular...

 and crossing the border. Southern forces made it as far as the city of Taizz before withdrawing. This conflict was also short-lived.

In the late 1980s oil exploration near the border between the two nations, Marib in North Yemen and Shabwah in the South, spurred interest in developing agreements to exploit resources there and lift both nations' economies. 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 Hunt Oil and Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....

. In May 1988 they formed the Yemeni Company for Investment in Mineral and Oil Resources (YCIMOR). In November 1989 Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh is the first President of the Republic of Yemen. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 until 1990, at which time he assumed the office of chairman of the Presidential Council of a post-unification Yemen. He is the...

 of North Yemen and Ali Salim al-Baidh
Ali Salim al-Baidh
Ali Salim al-Beidh is a Yemeni politician who served as the General Secretary of the Yemeni Socialist Party , the top political position in South Yemen, and as Vice-President of Yemen following Yemen's unification in 1990. He left the unification government in 1994, sparking the 1994 civil war in...

 of South Yemen jointly accepted a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981, which included a demilitarized border and border passage by Yemnis on the sole basis of a national identification card, as well as a capital city in Sanaa.

Unification

The Republic of Yemen was declared on 22 May 1990. Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh is the first President of the Republic of Yemen. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 until 1990, at which time he assumed the office of chairman of the Presidential Council of a post-unification Yemen. He is the...

 of the north became Head of State
President of Yemen
The President of the Republic of Yemen is the head of state of Yemen.Under the Constitution of Yemen, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Yemeni government....

, and Ali Salim al-Beidh became Head of Government
Prime Minister of Yemen
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Yemen is the head of government in that country. The current Prime Minister, Ali Muhammad Mujawar, has held the position since 7 April 2007. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President...

. 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 and ratified by the populace
Yemeni constitutional referendum, 1991
A constitutional referendum was held in Yemen on 15 and 16 May 1991. The new constitution was reportedly approved by 98.5% of voters, with a 72.2% turnout.-Results:-References:...

 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
Yemeni parliamentary election, 1993
Parliamentary elections were held in Yemen on 27 April 1993. The result was a victory for the General People's Congress, which won 122 of the 301 seats. Voter turnout was 84.1%. -Results:-References:...

 were held on April 27, 1993. International groups assisted in the organization of the elections and observed actual balloting. The resulting Parliament included 143 General People's Congress, 69 Yemeni Socialist Party
Yemeni Socialist Party
The Yemeni Socialist Party is a political party in Yemen.It was the ruling party in South Yemen, the only Marxist Arab state, before unification in 1990...

 (YSP), 63 Islaah
Al-Islah
The Yemeni Congregation for Reform, frequently called Islah or Al-Islah, , is the main opposition party in Yemen. At the last legislative elections, 27 April 2003, the party won 22.6 % of the popular vote and 46 out of 301 seats.-Foundation:...

 (the nation's largest Islamist party), 6 Ba'athis
Arab Socialist Rebirth Party (Yemen)
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Yemen Region is the Yemeni regional organization of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party .Ba'athism in Yemen originates back to the 1950s. The party worked underground until 1990...

, 3 Nasserite Unionist People's Organisation
Nasserite Unionist People's Organisation
The Nasserite Unionist People's Organisation is a Nasserist political party in Yemen.The party was founded in Taiz in 25 December 1965.The party was legalized in 1989....

, 2 Al 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. The head of Islaah, Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar
Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar
Sheikh Abdullah bin Husayn bin Nasser al-Ahmar was a politician and tribe leader of Yemen. He was speaker of the Assembly of Representatives of Yemen from 1993 to 2007 and also was the Sheikh of the Hashid tribal federation and the Al-Islah tribal confederacy.He inherited the position of Sheikh...

, became the speaker of Parliament. Islaah was invited into the ruling coalition, and the presidential council was altered to include one Islaah member.

As a new oil field was brought online in the Hadhramaut Governorate
Hadhramaut Governorate
Hadhramaut or Hadramawt is a governorate of Yemen. Lying within the large historical region of Hadhramaut, it is the country's largest governorate.-Overview:...

 in the south, southerners began to feel that their land, home to the majority of the country's oil reserves, was illegally appropriated as part of a planned conspiracy by the rulers of North Yemen.

Finally, the newly unified nation faced political crisis when an estimated 800,000 Yemeni nationals and overseas workers were sent home by Saudi Arabia following Yemen's decision not to support Coalition forces
Coalition of the Gulf War
The Coalition of the Gulf War were the countries officially opposed to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during the 1990 / 1991 Persian Gulf War.-Coalition by number of military personnel:-United States:*Norman Schwarzkopf*Colin Powell*Calvin Waller...

 in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

. Remittances from these workers, an important part of the economy, were slashed and many Yemenis were placed in refugee camps while the government decided where to house them and how to re-integrate them into the workforce. The repatriation of these Yemenis immediately increased the nation's population by 7%.

Civil war

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. Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas, the former Southern Prime Minister continued to serve as the Yemen's Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Yemen
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Yemen is the head of government in that country. The current Prime Minister, Ali Muhammad Mujawar, has held the position since 7 April 2007. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President...

, 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 in Amman, Jordan on February 20, 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 the Democratic Republic of Yemen
Democratic Republic of Yemen
The Democratic Republic of Yemen was declared in May 1994. The DRY, with its capital in Aden, was led by President Ali Salim al-Beidh and Prime Minister Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas and represented a response to the weakening position of the South in the Yemeni civil war of 1994...

(DRY) on 21 May 1994, but the new state was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad
Ali Nasir Muhammad
Ali Nasir Muhammad Husani was twice president of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. He served as Chairman of the Presidential Council from 26 June 1978 - 27 December 1978. In April 1980, South Yemeni president Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned and went into exile...

, the exiled South Yemen leader, assisted military operations against the secessionists.

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
Yemeni Socialist Party
The Yemeni Socialist Party is a political party in Yemen.It was the ruling party in South Yemen, the only Marxist Arab state, before unification in 1990...

 leaders within Yemen reorganized the party and elected a new politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...

 in July 1994. However, the party remained disheartened and without its former influence. Islaah held a party convention in September 1994. The General People's Congress
General People's Congress
The General People's Congress is the ruling political party in Yemen.Was founded in August 24, 1982 in Sana'a, YemenAt the last legislative elections, 27 April 2003, the party won 58.0% of the popular vote and 238 out of 301 seats in the Assembly of Representatives of Yemen....

 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.

Aftermath

Yemen held its first direct presidential elections
Yemeni presidential election, 1999
Direct Presidential elections were held in Yemen for the first time on 23 September 1999. Candidates had to be approved by at least 10% of MPs; however, in practice this meant that only two parties, the ruling General People's Congress and the Yemeni Congregation for Reform had enough seats to...

 in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdallah Salih to a 5-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections. Yemen held its second multiparty parliamentary elections
Yemeni parliamentary election, 1997
The 1997 Yemeni parliamentary elections took place on 27 April 1997 for the Assembly of Representatives of Yemen. The governing General People's Congress of President Ali Abdullah Saleh won a landslide victory in the elections...

 in April 1997. Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the presidential term by 2 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 a bicameral 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 a one party dominant state with the General People's Congress
General People's Congress
The General People's Congress is the ruling political party in Yemen.Was founded in August 24, 1982 in Sana'a, YemenAt the last legislative elections, 27 April 2003, the party won 58.0% of the popular vote and 238 out of 301 seats in the Assembly of Representatives of Yemen....

 in power.

In 2010 friction and troubles still continue. Elements in the south perceive unfair treatment by the north.

This has given birth to a popular movement called the South Yemen Movement which calls for the return of an independent southern state.

Integration

  • The North Yemeni rial
    North Yemeni rial
    The rial or riyal was the currency of North Yemen, first the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, then the Yemen Arab Republic.-History:The Mutawakkilite Kingdom began issuing coins around the turn of the 20th century. The rial was divided into 160 zalat, 80 halala or 40 buqsha. During the reign of Imam...

     and the South Yemeni dinar
    South Yemeni dinar
    The dinar was the currency of South Arabia and then South Yemen between 1965 and 1990. It was subdivided into 1000 fils . After Yemen's monetary unification on 1 July 1990, it was one of the two official currencies used in Yemen Republic until 11 June 1996.-History:The dinar was introduced in 1965...

     remained legal tender during a transitionary period. In 1991, the dinar was withdrawn from circulation, with 26 rial exchanged for one dinar. In 1993, the first coins were issued for the Republic of Yemen called Yemeni rial
    Yemeni rial
    The rial or riyal is the currency of Yemen. It is technically divided into 100 fils, although coins denominated in fils have not been issued since Yemeni unification.-History:...

    s.
  • The capital of the Republic of Yemen is North's old capital, Sana'a
    Sana'a
    -Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...

    .
  • The South's "United Republic
    National anthem of Yemen
    "United Republic" is the national anthem of Yemen. Written by Abdallah "al-Fadhool" Abdulwahab Noman and composed by Ayoob Tarish, it was formerly the anthem of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and became the anthem of all of Yemen when the two Yemens merged in 1990.-Lyrics:-English...

    " became the country's national anthem.
  • September 26 and October 14 are both celebrated as Revolution Day, with the former celebrating the North's revolution against the imams
    Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen
    The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , sometimes spelled Mutawakelite Kingdom of Yemen, also known as the Kingdom of Yemen or as North Yemen, was a country from 1918 to 1962 in the northern part of what is now Yemen...

     and the latter celebrating the South's revolution against the British Empire
    British Empire
    The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

    .
  • November 30 is celebrated as Independence Day, as it is the day the South gained independence from the British, as opposed to November 1, which was celebrated in the north as Independence Day from the Ottoman Empire
    Ottoman Empire
    The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

    .
  • The Republic of Yemen kept the North's United Nations
    United Nations
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

     name, Yemen, as opposed to the South's Democratic Yemen.
  • The Republic of Yemen accepts responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors.
  • The Republic of Yemen kept the South's system of Governorates (Muhafazah), and split the North's liwa (provinces) into smaller governates, leaving the current Governorates of Yemen
    Governorates of Yemen
    |Yemen is divided into 21 governorates :The governorates are subdivided into 333 districts , which are subdivided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages ....

    .
  • The Republic of Yemen uses the North's calling code, +967, as opposed to the South's +969.
  • The Republic of Yemen uses the North's ISO 3166-1
    ISO 3166-1
    ISO 3166-1 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names...

     alphabetic codes (alpha-2
    ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
    ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest...

    : YE, alpha-3
    ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
    ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes are three-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest...

    : YEM), as opposed to the South's (alpha-2: YD, alpha-3: YMD); a new numeric code
    ISO 3166-1 numeric
    ISO 3166-1 numeric codes are three-digit country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest...

    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.
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