Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi facts for kids
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi (born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and military officer. He was the second President of Yemen from 2012 until he stepped down in 2022. Before that, he was the second Vice President of Yemen from 1994 to 2012, serving under President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Hadi was also a Field marshal in the Yemeni Armed Forces. From June to September 2011, he was the acting president while President Saleh was getting medical treatment. He became acting president again in November 2011. This happened after Saleh agreed to step back from his role. Hadi was expected to form a new government and call for early presidential elections.
In February 2012, Mansour Hadi was chosen as president for a two-year period. He was the only candidate in the election. However, some groups, like the Houthis in the north and Southern Secessionists in the south, did not take part in the election. His time as president was extended for another year in January 2014.
On 22 January 2015, Hadi was forced to resign by the Houthis. This was due to protests against his decision to raise fuel prices and unhappiness with the results of the 2011 revolution. The Houthis took over the presidential palace and put Hadi under house arrest. A month later, Hadi escaped to his hometown of Aden. He then said his resignation was not valid and spoke out against the Houthi takeover. He went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where other countries, led by Saudi Arabia, helped his government. He returned to Aden in September 2015 after his forces took back the city.
In 2022, Hadi stepped down and gave his power to a new group called the Presidential Leadership Council. Rashad al-Alimi became the chairman of this council. This change was part of an effort to find a peaceful solution to Yemen's civil war. Some reports said that Saudi Arabia had pressured him to give up his power.
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Early Life and Military Career
Hadi was born on 1 September 1945 in Thukain, a village in southern Yemen. He finished military school in 1966. He was supposed to study in Britain on a military scholarship, but he could not go because he did not speak English.
After South Yemen became independent, Hadi became an important figure in the new military. He reached the rank of Major General.
In 1970, he received another scholarship to study tank warfare in Egypt. He then spent four years in the Soviet Union learning about military leadership. He held several military jobs in the army of South Yemen until 1986. At that time, he fled to North Yemen with Ali Nasir Muhammad, who was the president of South Yemen. This happened after Ali Nasser's group lost a civil war in 1986.
During the 1994 civil war in Yemen, Hadi supported the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He was made Minister of Defense and led the military against the opposing forces. After the war, he was promoted to Vice-president on 3 October 1994.
President of Yemen
Becoming President
Hadi was the only person running in the presidential election on 21 February 2012. Both the ruling party and the opposition parties in parliament supported him. The election officials said that 65 percent of registered voters in Yemen cast their votes. Hadi won with all the votes. He officially became the President of Yemen on 27 February 2012, when Saleh formally left the presidency.
Working for Change
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In March 2013, a meeting called the National Dialogue Conference was set up. This meeting was meant to bring together different groups in Yemen to talk about important issues. In January 2014, Hadi encouraged the people at the conference to agree on key points. When they finally agreed, he gave a powerful speech that made him more popular.
They decided that Yemen would become a federal government in the future. This means power would be shared more with different regions. Hadi strongly supported this idea. However, many Yemenis, especially in the poorer northwestern part of the country, did not like this plan. They worried that decentralization would mean less money from the central government for their region. Some experts also thought this plan might benefit foreign interests and make it easier to control Yemen's wealth.
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Military Changes
To unite the Armed Forces of Yemen, which had been divided, Hadi made a new rule in December 2012. This rule reorganized the military into five main parts: the Air Force, Army, Navy and Coastal Defense, Border Troops, and Strategic Reserve Forces. The Strategic Reserve Forces replaced the old Republican Guard.
Dealing with Security Challenges
From the start of his time in office, Hadi said that fighting terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda was a key goal. He stated that Yemen would strongly fight terrorism wherever it was found.
The Yemeni military had been divided since March 2011, when a general left the army during protests against Hadi's predecessor. Hadi warned in September 2012 that Yemen could fall into a civil war if national talks failed. He also said Yemen was facing "three undeclared wars" from al Qaeda, pirates, and Houthi rebels. He claimed that Iran was indirectly supporting these groups.
Rebel Takeover and Civil War
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After the capital city Sana'a fell to the Houthi rebels in September 2014, Hadi was forced to agree to share power. The Houthis did not join the "unity government" but still controlled key places in Sana'a and other parts of northern Yemen. The Houthis said they entered Sana'a because Hadi's government had gone past its two-year term and was trying to avoid a power-sharing deal.
Three days after Hadi's resignation on 21 January 2015, the Houthis took over the presidential palace. Hadi and his prime minister resigned, but parliament reportedly did not accept their resignations. Hadi and his former ministers were kept under house arrest.
The United Nations asked for Hadi to be put back in power after the Houthis formed their own government in February 2015. However, Houthi-controlled media said Hadi confirmed his resignation was final.
But after leaving Sana'a and going to his hometown of Aden on 21 February, Hadi said that everything the Houthis had done since September was against the law.
On 26 March 2015, Saudi TV reported that Hadi arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This happened as Saudi Arabia and its allies began airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis.
On 25 March 2017, a court in Houthi-controlled Sana'a sentenced Hadi and six other government officials to death. They were accused of helping Saudi Arabia and its allies.
Resignation
On 7 April 2022, Hadi announced on TV that he was resigning from his position. He also dismissed his vice-president and gave his power to a new eight-member group called the Presidential Leadership Council, led by Rashad al-Alimi. He said the council would talk with the Houthi rebels to agree on a lasting ceasefire. The leader of this new council had strong connections with Saudi Arabia.
Officials from Saudi Arabia and Yemen said that Saudi Arabia had pushed Hadi to give up his power. Hadi reportedly received a written order from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transfer his authority. Some reports also claimed that Saudi officials threatened Hadi with evidence of corruption.
After he stepped down, Hadi was reportedly kept under house arrest in his home in Riyadh and was not allowed to talk to anyone. Saudi Arabia denied all these claims.
See also
In Spanish: Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi para niños
