Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi: Difference between revisions

On 22 January 2015, he was forced to resign by the [[Houthis]] in the midst of mass protest against his decision to raise the fuel subsidies and due to dissatisfaction with the outcome of the 2011 Revolution. Subsequently, the Houthis and the supporters of Saleh seized the presidential palace and placed Hadi under house arrest. The Houthis named a [[Revolutionary Committee (Yemen)|Revolutionary Committee]] to assume the powers of the presidency, as well as the [[General People's Congress (Yemen)|General People's Congress]], Hadi's own political party.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yementimes.com/en/1863/news/4928/President-or-fugitive-Houthis-reject-Hadi%E2%80%99s-letter-to-Parliament.htm|agency=Yemen Times|title=PRESIDENT OR FUGITIVE? HOUTHIS REJECT HADI'S LETTER TO PARLIAMENT|first=Ali Ibrahim|last=Al-Moshki|date=25 February 2015|accessdateaccess-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224051459/http://www.yementimes.com/en/1863/news/4928/President-or-fugitive-Houthis-reject-Hadi%E2%80%99s-letter-to-Parliament.htm|archive-date=24 December 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> A month later, Hadi escaped to his hometown of [[Aden]], rescinded his resignation, and denounced the [[Houthi takeover in Yemen|Houthi takeover]]. He arrived in [[Riyadh]] the next day, as a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia [[2015 military intervention in Yemen|intervened]] in support of his government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/26/hadi-saudi-riyadh_n_6948558.html|agency=Huffington Post|title=Saudi Arabia: Yemen's President Hadi Arrives in Saudi Capital Riyadh|date=26 March 2015|accessdateaccess-date=26 March 2015}}</ref> He returned to Aden in September 2015, as Saudi-backed government forces recaptured the city.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14704951|agency = BBC World News|title = Yemen profile: timeline|date = 24 September 2015|accessdateaccess-date = 4 October 2015}}</ref> In late 2017, he was reportedly residing in Riyadh under [[house arrest]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Yemeni President Hadi 'under house arrest' in Riyadh|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/yemen-president-hadi-house-arrest-riyadh-171107082638642.html|accessdateaccess-date=30 January 2018|work=Al-Jazeera|date=7 November 2017}}</ref> On 2 January 2020, the Specialised Criminal Court under Houthi control in [[Sanaa]], sentenced Hadi and his prime minister [[Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed]] to death in absentia, after the two were convicted of high [[treason]], abuse of government estates and looting the country's treasury.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://1buv.com/yemen-court-sentences-hadi-to-death-over-treason-middle-east-monitor/|title=Yemen court sentences Hadi to death over treason – Middle East Monitor|accessdateaccess-date=2 January 2020|website=1BUV}}</ref>

Hadi was born in 1 September 1945 in Thukain, Al Wade'a District, [[Abyan Governorate|Abyan]], a southern Yemeni governorate.<ref name="yfox23feb">{{cite news|title=Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi biography|url=http://www.yemenfox.net/news_details.php?sid=2166|accessdateaccess-date=14 April 2013|newspaper=Yemen Fox|date=23 February 2012}}</ref> He graduated from a military academy in the [[Federation of South Arabia]] in 1966.<ref name=alar19feb/> In 1966 he graduated after receiving a military scholarship to study in Britain, but was not able to attend, as he does not speak [[English language|English]].<ref name=yfox23feb/>

In 1970, he received another military scholarship to study tanks in Egypt. Hadi spent the following four years in the Soviet Union studying military leadership. He occupied several military posts in the army of [[South Yemen]] until 1986, when he fled to [[Yemen Arab Republic|North Yemen]] with [[Ali Nasser Mohammed]], president of South Yemen, after Ali Nasser's faction of the ruling [[Yemeni Socialist Party]] lost the [[South Yemen Civil War|1986 civil war]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yemen24news.blogspot.com/2012/02/hadi-elected-as-yemen-new-president.html|title="Hadi elected as Yemen new president", 25 February 2012|publisher=Yemen24news.blogspot.com|accessdateaccess-date=7 April 2015}}</ref>

He remained loyal to President [[Ali Nasser Mohammed]] during the [[South Yemen Civil War]], and followed him into exile in neighboring North Yemen. During the [[Yemeni Civil War (1994)|1994 civil war in Yemen]], Hadi sided with the Yemeni government of [[President of Yemen|President]] [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]] and was appointed as Minister of Defense.<ref name="alar19feb">{{cite news|title=Saleh's successor: low-profile warrior of consensus in Yemen|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/02/19/195733.html|accessdateaccess-date=14 April 2013|newspaper=Al Arabiya|date=19 February 2012|agency=AFP|location=Sanaa}}</ref> In this role he led the military campaign against the [[Democratic Republic of Yemen]].<ref>{{cite news|date=26 October 2013|title=Yemen profile - President: Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14704899|newspaper=BBC News|accessdateaccess-date=7 April 2015}}</ref> Following the war he was promoted to vice president on 3 October 1994, replacing [[Ali Salim Al-Beidh]], who had resigned and fought against the government during the civil war.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

Hadi was the sole candidate in the presidential election that was held on 21 February 2012. His candidacy was backed by the ruling party, as well as by the parliamentary opposition. The Electoral Commission reported that 65 percent of registered voters in Yemen voted during the election. Hadi won with 100% of the vote and took the oath of office in Yemen's parliament on 25 February 2012.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|first=Laura|last=Kasinof|title=Yemen's New President Sworn into Office|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/world/middleeast/abed-rabu-mansour-hadi-sworn-in-as-yemens-new-president.html?_r=1&ref=global-home|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=25 February 2012|accessdateaccess-date=25 February 2012}}</ref> He was formally inaugurated as the president of Yemen on 27 February 2012, when Saleh resigned from the presidency and formally ceded power to Hadi.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iqhKKOqo6XDujeTI_yaD4B0CcyVA?docId=CNG.12cc0199ecc6457c2d2a25874218f73d.691 |title=AFP: Yemen's Saleh formally steps down after 33 years|date=27 February 2012|accessdateaccess-date=14 April 2013}}</ref>

In March 2013 the [[National Dialogue Conference]] was conceived as a core part of the transition process and is intended to bring together Yemen's diverse political and demographic groups to address critical issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/yemens-national-dialogue-behind-closed-doors|title=Yemen's National Dialogue Behind Closed Doors|publisher=Atlanticcouncil.org|accessdateaccess-date=6 April 2015}}</ref> In January 2014, Hadi pushed delegates at the conference to break a deadlock on key issues and bring the talks to an overdue close. When those in attendance finally agreed on a final few points, he launched into an impassioned speech that led to a spike in his popularity. It was agreed that Yemen would shift to a [[Federalization of Yemen|federal model of government]] in the future, a move which have been proposed and forcefully backed by Hadi.<ref>{{cite web|author=Peter Salisbury|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia/2014/03/yemen-quiet-president-201432112448542617.html|title=Yemen's quiet president|publisher=Aljazeera.com|accessdateaccess-date=6 April 2015}}</ref> For many Yemenis, particularly in northwestern Yemen, this decentralization was less attractive. This mountainous region is the poorest of Yemen and decentralization would mean that it would receive less money from the central government. Relevant here is that the overwhelming majority of Yemen's population has resided in this area for many years.<ref name="Blumi, Isa p. 196">Blumi, Isa. Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About the World, p. 196.</ref> Indeed, the 'decentralization' of Yemen along the lines proposed by the Saudi-imposed Hadi regime threatened Yemen's long-term economic and political independence; scholar Isa Blumi points out that "To any rational observer, the idea of developing Yemen into six disproportionate regions with enormous autonomy was a blatant effort to benefit foreign interests and subdue the rebellious populations through poverty and administrative obscurity."<ref name="Blumi, Isa p. 196"/> Indeed, if the Saudi-American decentralization 'road map to peace' is implemented, Yemen's oil wealth would be confined almost entirely to the provinces of Hadhramawt and Saba', Yemen's two least populated provinces.<ref name="Blumi, Isa p. 197">Blumi, Isa. Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About the World, p. 197</ref> Blumi goes on to point out that "This would make bribing the few thousands of eligible 'residents' with a tiny portion of the oil revenue (no longer flowing to the central state) easy, while creating an enormous windfall for those hoping to steal Yemen's wealth."<ref name="Blumi, Isa p. 197"/> They also didn't like that the new regional borders would rob them of access to the sea.

From his early days at office, Hadi advocated fighting [[Al-Qaida]] as an important goal. In a meeting with British [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]], [[William Hague]] in his first days in office Hadi said "We intend to confront terrorism with full force and whatever the matter we will pursue it to the very last hiding place".<ref name="reuters">{{cite web|last=Mukhashaf|first=Mohammed|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/05/us-yemen-idUSTRE8240YY20120305|title=Yemen president vows to pursue Qaeda-linked militants|date=5 March 2012|publisher=Reuters.com|accessdateaccess-date=6 April 2015}}</ref>

In an interview in September 2012 given to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Hadi warned that his country, still reeling from the popular uprising that ousted Saleh, risked a descent into a civil war "worse than Afghanistan" should an upcoming months-long national dialogue fail to resolve the state's deep political and societal rifts. He also said that Yemen was facing "three undeclared wars" conducted by [[al Qaeda]], [[pirate]]s in the [[Gulf of Aden]], and [[Shia insurgency in Yemen|Houthi rebels]] in the north, and that [[Iran]] was supporting these adversaries indirectly without giving further details.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rothkopf|first=David|url=http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/09/29/yemens_president_warns_of_a_civil_war_worse_than_afghanistan|title=Yemen's president warns of a civil war 'worse than Afghanistan'|date=29 September 2012|publisher=Blog.foreignpolicy.com|accessdateaccess-date=6 April 2015}}</ref>

Houthis, on their side, complained of murder attacks on their delegates to the NDC.<ref>{{cite web|last=Saeed|first=Ali|url=http://www.yementimes.com/en/1749/news/3388/NDC-extends-Hadi%E2%80%99s-term-for-one-year-on-a-day-marked-by-an-assassination.htm|title=NDC extends Hadi's term for one year on a day marked by an assassination'|date=23 January 2014|publisher=yementimes.com|accessdateaccess-date=9 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110011236/http://www.yementimes.com/en/1749/news/3388/NDC-extends-Hadi%E2%80%99s-term-for-one-year-on-a-day-marked-by-an-assassination.htm|archive-date=10 January 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Hadi was forced to agree to a power-sharing deal after the [[Battle of Sana'a (2014)|fall of Sana'a]] to the rebel umbrella organization Ansar Allah in September 2014. Also known as the Houthis, these revolutionaries refused to participate in the "unity government", although they continued to occupy key positions and buildings in [[Sana'a]] and hold territory throughout northern Yemen. Hadi was further humiliated when the [[General People's Congress (Yemen)|General People's Congress]] ousted him as its leader and rejected his cabinet choices on 8 November 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/08/us-yemen-president-idUSKBN0IS0CZ20141108|work=Reuters|title=Yemen's Houthis reject new power-sharing government|date=8 November 2014|accessdateaccess-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> It is important to note that the Houthis' pretext for entering Sana'a and deposing Hadi was to reverse an apparent breach of the Hadi government's mandate by unilaterally declaring an extension of its power beyond the two-year intermediary period actually set by the GCC and the United States.<ref>Blumi, Isa. Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About the World, p. 198.</ref> They also accused the president of seeking to bypass a power-sharing deal signed when they seized Sana'a in September, and say they are also working to protect state institutions from corrupt civil servants and officers trying to plunder state property.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-president/yemen-leader-expected-to-accept-demands-of-houthis-who-defeat-his-guards-idUSKBN0KU0OT20150121|title=Yemen leader expected to accept demands of Houthis who defeat his...|last=Bayoumy|first=Yara|work=U.S.|access-date=2018-06-14|language=en-US}}</ref>

Three days after Hadi's resignation (21 January 2015), the Houthis took over the presidential palace.<ref>[http://www.yementimes.com/en/1863/news/4928/President-or-fugitive-Houthis-reject-Hadi%E2%80%99s-letter-to-Parliament.htm President Hadi's letter to Parliament] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224051459/http://www.yementimes.com/en/1863/news/4928/President-or-fugitive-Houthis-reject-Hadi%E2%80%99s-letter-to-Parliament.htm |date=24 December 2015 }}, yementimes.com; accessed 7 April 2015.</ref> Hadi and Prime Minister [[Khaled Bahah]] tendered their resignations to parliament which reportedly refused to accept them.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30936940|agency=BBC|title=Yemen crisis: President resigns as rebels tighten hold|date=22 January 2015|accessdateaccess-date=22 January 2015}}</ref> Then the Yemeni cabinet was dissolved.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/22/world/yemen-violence/index.html Yemen's cabinet is dissolved], cnn.com; accessed 7 April 2015.</ref> Hadi and his former ministers remained under virtual house arrest since their resignations.<ref name="reinstatementcalls">{{cite news|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/un-calls-for-yemen-president-hadi-s-reinstatement-1.1453472|agency=Gulfnews.com|title=UN calls for Yemen President Hadi's reinstatement|date=8 February 2015|accessdateaccess-date=9 February 2015}}</ref>

[[United Nations]] Secretary-General [[Ban Ki-moon]] called for Hadi to be restored as president after the [[Houthis]] installed themselves as the interim government in February 2015.<ref name="reinstatementcalls"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/yemen-talks-houthi-coup-150208203942558.html|agency=Al Jazeera|title=Yemen talks to resume as coup is condemned|date=9 February 2015|accessdateaccess-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> According to Houthi-controlled state media, Hadi reaffirmed on 8 February that his resignation was "final" and could not be withdrawn.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sabanews.net/en/news387412.htm|agency=Yemen News Agency (SABA)|title=Hadi affirms his presidential resignation final|date=9 February 2015|accessdateaccess-date=9 February 2015}}</ref>

However, after leaving Sana'a and traveling to his hometown of [[Aden]] on 21 February, Hadi gave a speech in which he presented himself as Yemen's president and said the actions taken by the Houthis since 21 September were unconstitutional and invalid.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/yemen-leader-hadi-leaves-sanaa-weeks-house-arrest-150221090018174.html|agency=Al Jazeera|title=Yemen's Hadi says Houthis decisions unconstitutional|date=21 February 2015|accessdateaccess-date=21 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2015/02/22/Yemens-ousted-president-Hadi-calls-for-Houthis-to-quit-capital/|agency=The Star Online|title=Yemen's ousted president Hadi calls for Houthis to quit capital|date=22 February 2015|accessdateaccess-date=21 February 2015}}</ref>

On 26 March 2015 Saudi state TV [[Al Ekhbariya]] reported that Hadi arrived at a [[Riyadh]] airbase and was met by [[Saudi Arabia]] Defense Minister [[Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud]] as Saudi Arabia and its allies launched airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis in the [[2015 military intervention in Yemen]]. His route from Aden to Riyadh was not immediately known.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemeni-s-abed-rabbo-mansour-hadi-arrives-in-saudi-capital-1.3010698|agency=CBC news|title=Yemeni's Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi arrives in Saudi capital|date=26 March 2015|accessdateaccess-date=26 March 2015}}</ref>

On 25 March 2017 a court in the Houthi-controlled [[Sana'a]] sentenced Hadi and six other government officials to [[Trial in absentia|death in absentia]] for "high treason", which meant "incitement and assistance" to Saudi Arabia and its allies."<ref name="r">{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-court-idUSKBN16W0UF|title=Pro-Houthi court sentences Yemen president to death for treason|publisher=Reuters| date=25 March 2017| accessdateaccess-date =26 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/26/c_136158421.htm|title=Pro-Houthi court sentences exiled Yemeni president Hadi to death for "high treason"|publisher=Xinhua| date=26 March 2017| accessdateaccess-date =26 March 2017}}</ref> The sentence was announced by the Houthi-controlled [[Saba News Agency]].<ref name="r"/>

On 11 May 2020, there were reports that his health was failing after he had a heart attack.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200511-reports-yemen-presidents-health-is-deteriorating-after-heart-attack/|title=Reports Yemen president's health is deteriorating after heart attack|publisher=[[Middle East Monitor]]| date=11 May 2020| accessdateaccess-date =11 May 2020}}</ref>