Aden: Former Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whose presidency was closely tied to Yemen’s prolonged civil war and fragile political transition, died on Thursday at the age of 80, according to Yemeni state television and a source close to his family.
Yemen TV, the Yemeni state-run broadcaster operating from Saudi Arabia, reported that Hadi passed away in Riyadh.
A family source confirmed to Xinhua that he died “this morning in a hospital in Riyadh after experiencing a sudden health crisis in recent days.”
Hadi served as Yemen’s internationally recognised president during one of the country’s most turbulent periods, Xinhua news agency reported.
Born on September 1, 1945, in the southern province of Abyan, he rose through the military and political ranks, becoming vice president in October 1994.
Hadi assumed the presidency in February 2012 as part of a Gulf-backed transition plan following the resignation of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh amid nationwide protests during the so-called “Arab Spring.”
After taking office, he launched what was described as the largest restructuring of Yemen’s military and security institutions, seeking to unify rival armed factions and reorganise army and security units.
However, Yemen’s political transition unravelled as Houthi forces advanced southward and seized key state institutions in Sanaa.
In January 2015, Hadi submitted his resignation after Houthi fighters surrounded the presidential palace and placed him under house arrest in the capital.
The following month, he escaped to the southern port city of Aden, withdrew his resignation, and called for foreign intervention.
On March 26, 2015, a Saudi-led Arab coalition launched a military intervention against the Houthis at Hadi’s request, triggering a devastating conflict and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
In April 2022, Hadi transferred his powers to an eight-member Presidential Leadership Council, aiming to unite anti-Houthi factions and revive efforts for a political settlement to the conflict.
Yemen has remained divided for years between the Houthis, who control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, and the internationally recognised government based in Aden.
(IANS)
