Abd al-Fattah Ismail
Abd al-Fattah Ismail al-Jawfi ( Arabic عبد الفتاح إسماعيل الجوفي, DMG ʿAbdu l-Fattāḥ Ismāʿīl al-Ǧaufī ; * July 1939 ; † January 13, 1986 ) was President of South Yemen from January 21, 1978 to April 21, 1980 as well as the founder, leader and charismatic ideologue of the Yemeni Socialist Party . In 1986 he was killed during a civil war with his political rival Ali Nasser Muhammad .
Abd al-Fattah Ismail was born in northern Yemen in 1939. He grew up in Aden and began working here in 1957 on an oil refinery. He was a co-founder of the Arab Nationalist Movement and was imprisoned by the British authorities for political agitation. In 1961 he became a teacher and remained politically active, for example as a co-founder of the National Liberation Front (NLF).
On October 14, the NLF called for independence against the British colonial power in South Yemen, in which Abd al-Fattah Ismail played a key role. With the help of the population, most areas of the crown colony could be brought under control. Great Britain then started negotiations with the NLF and withdrew its troops. On November 20, 1967, the last British High Commissioner, Humphrey Trevelyan, disappeared on a plane that took him back to London. On November 30, 1967, the NLF proclaimed the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. Abd al-Fattah Ismail was appointed Minister of Culture and Unity. In the following power struggle within the NLF, he was briefly imprisoned by the right-wing, military-affiliated camp. On June 22, 1969, the left wing with Abdul Fattah Ismail prevailed.
In the following decade he reached leading positions in the NLF. On January 21, 1978 he became President of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. He advocated a dialogue between the left parties, which led to the establishment of the Yemeni Socialist Party (JSP), at whose first party congress in October 1978 he was elected General Secretary . In 1980 he resigned from all offices for health reasons and received medical treatment in Moscow until 1985. His influence on the Marxist Unity Party remained substantial. After he was re-elected to the Politburo on his return in 1985 , there was a power struggle with his successor as President, Ali Nasser Muhammed. On January 13, 1986, the conflict between the two camps in Aden escalated into a civil war, which began with Ali Nasir not appearing at the meeting of the Politburo, but his bodyguards and there, alongside Vice President Ali Ahmed Antar and eight members of the Central Committee, four other members of the Politburo killed, including Abd al-Fattah Ismail. Several thousand people were killed in the ensuing clashes.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ismail, Abd al-Fattah |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ismail, Abd al-Fattah Ali al-Jawfi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Yemeni politician (Yemeni Socialist Party), President of South Yemen (1978–1980) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 1939 |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 13, 1986 |