Abdullah al-Sallal
President of North Yemen from 1962 to 1967
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Early life
Al-Sallal was born in the village of Sha'asan, Sanhan district, in Sanaa Governorate. His father died when he was young. Al-Sallal was sent to the only orphanage in Sanaa, known as the Orphan School, which later became famous for raising many of Yemen's greatest patriots and some of the most influential politicians of that era.
In the late 1930s, he completed his military education in Baghdad, Iraq. He became a second lieutenant at this time.
Though not a member of the social elite in Yemen, Al-Sallal was widely respected by the military community as a competent and brazen officer despite being the son of a butcher, a profession looked down upon prior to the revolution.
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Political career
Al-Sallal led the revolutionary forces that deposed King Muhammad al-Badr and brought the Kingdom of Yemen to an end. He presided over the newly founded Yemen Arab Republic (YAR), with close ties to Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt which served as the Yemen Arab Republic's strongest ally in the war against the Saudi Arabian-backed royalists that lasted into 1970.
Yemen's President Abdullah al-Sallal negotiated with tribal leaders after the revolution to help cement the republic. He was later ousted in a bloodless coup led by Abdul Rahman Al-Iryani and exiled to Egypt, where he remained until President Ali Abdullah Saleh invited him to return in the early 1980s.
Six different men held the position of Prime Minister under Al-Sallal, including Al-Sallal himself three times. He held both titles from the formation of the republic until 26 April 1963, when he appointed Abdul Latif Dayfallah, as well as briefly in 1965 and from 18 September 1966 until the end of his presidency. At the time, he participated in the 2nd Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Cairo in 1964. Abdul Rahman al-Eryani, al-Sallal's successor to the presidency in 1967, served as prime minister in 1963 and 1964. Hassan al-Amri held the post three times.
Personal life
al-Sallal's two sons, Jamal and Ali, both had diplomatic and political positions. Jamal served as the foreign minister and is the current ambassador to Canada.