Salim Rubaya Ali

Ali led the left-wing faction of the National Front for the Liberation of South Yemen (NLF), which forced the British to withdraw from southern Yemen on 29 November 1967. Ali's radical Marxist faction gained dominance over the more moderate President Qahtan al-Shaabi's elements, allowing Rubaya Ali to seize power; he retained the title of Chairman of the Presidential Council throughout his term, even as the NLF changed the name of the country from the People's Republic of South Yemen to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1970.

Final years and execution

Rubaya Ali's National Front joined with other parties in 1975, creating the United Political Organisation NF (التنظيم السياسي الموحد الجبهة القومية), all rival parties having been outlawed earlier. He appointed Muhammad Ali Haitham as his Prime Minister, who served until August 1971, when he was replaced by Ali Nasir Muhammad. Rubaya Ali opposed the formation of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) championed by Abdul Fattah Ismail.

During this period, his administration became increasingly involved in the geopolitics of the Horn of Africa. In early 1977, he hosted a summit in Aden involving Fidel Castro and the leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia, attempting to facilitate a socialist-aligned regional federation. Following the failure of these diplomatic efforts, his government committed approximately 2,000 troops to support the Ethiopian government during the Ogaden War (1977–1978). This deployment represented a significant expansion of South Yemen's regional military commitments.

On 26 June 1978, the collective leadership of the YSP led by Abdul Fattah Ismail overthrew and executed Rubaya Ali.