Ibrahim al-Hamdi

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Ibrahim al-Hamdi (right) and South Yemen's President Salim Rubai Ali held serious unification talks for the first time in 1977, although the first unification agreements had already been concluded in 1972.

Ibrahim Muhammad al-Hamdi (* 1943 in North Yemen , † October 11, 1977 in Sanaa , North Yemen) ( Arabic إبراهيم الحمدي, DMG Ibrāhīm al-Ḥamdī ), occasionally also transcribed as Hamidi or Hamadi , was President of the Yemeni Arab Republic (Northern Yemen) from June 13, 1974 to October 11, 1977 .

As the son of a Qādī , Ibrahim Muhammad al-Hamdi had initially devoted himself to studying law, but with the revolution of 1962 and the overthrow of the monarchy, he decided to pursue a career in the republican armed forces. Under Presidents Abdullah as-Sallal and Abdul Rahman al-Iriani, he quickly rose to become commander of an elite army unit ( paratroopers ), colonel, and commander of the western and central military region. In the Cabinet of Muhsin Ahmad al-Aini he was Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior and President of the State Society for Local Development until December 1972. From 1972 to 1974 he served as deputy chief of staff.

To the conservative, tribal and pro-Saudi Arabian forces conspiring against President al-Iriani in 1974, al-Hamdi appeared to be more susceptible to influence and, because of his popularity in the army and with the people, as a suitable compromise candidate to prevent left-wing republicans ( Nasserists , Baathists ) anticipate their overturn plans. As the leader of the "corrective movement" of June 13, al-Hamdi took over power and chairmanship of the newly created ten-member Command Council, which usurped the functions of legislative and executive branches, for which he had the constitution amended. He immediately commissioned Muhsin al-Aini, who also became a member of the Command Council in October 1974, but was released in January 1975 under pressure from the Saudi Arabia, with the formation of a new government.

The mainstay of his power was his older brother Abdullah al-Hamdi, who, as a colonel, commanded the al-Amaliqa Brigade, an elite unit of the army. To strengthen his power, al-Hamdi strengthened the equipment and position of the regular army in relation to the conservative tribal militias.

Domestically, al-Hamdi announced the intention of various reforms for the purpose of financial consolidation and the fight against corruption, as well as numerous ideas for the development of the country, especially the rural regions. This earned him the approval of the Nasserists and left republicans, who were ousted by al-Iriani in 1967 and 1968, but also the opposition of the conservative and tribal forces and the Saudis who supported them. Since al-Hamdi ultimately shied away from serious reforms, the Nasserists increasingly distanced themselves from 1976 and founded an opposition National Democratic Front (NDF), which was supported by the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (DPRY).

In order to loosen extensive economic and financial dependence on Saudi Arabia, al-Hamdi tried to improve relations with the VDRJ. During visits by the South Yemeni President Salim Rubai Ali to Qataba and Sanaa in March and September 1977, it was decided to form a joint presidency council and to resume the unification intentions agreed in 1972. Shortly before a return visit to Aden planned for October, al-Hamdi and his brother were killed in a military coup led by Ahmed Hussein al-Ghashmi .

Some military men loyal to al-Hamdi escaped to South Yemen. With help from South Yemen, the NDF began an armed uprising in 1978, which, after the assassination of al-Ghashmi by an envoy Salim Rubai Ali, resulted in a border war between North and South Yemen that lasted until 1979.

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  • Lothar Rathmann : History of the Arabs - From the beginnings to the present. Volume 6: The Struggle for Development in the Arab World. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1983, pages 313ff.
  • Robert D. Burrowes: Historical Dictionary of Yemen. Lanham 2010, pages 152ff and 193ff.

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