Abd Rabo Mansour Hadi



SANA’A, Dec. 25 — The parliament of Yemen has voted by consensus to close nominations for early presidential election, scheduled to take place on 21 February 2012. Vice President Abd Rabo Mansour Hadi is the sole candidate in line with the GCC power transition plan and its implementation mechanism.

However, this action by the parliament violates Article 108 of Yemen’s constitution which stipulates that presidential elections shall be by competitive election, where proposals must be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and whereby at least two candidates must run for the elections to be valid.

But MP Mohamed Al-Hazmi, a personal supporter of this decree whose party voted in favour of it, told the Yemen Times that “this decree came at an extraordinary time in line with the implementation mechanism of the GCC deal which was signed by both sides, and its 18th article stipulates that the mechanism overrides any contradictive constitutional articles to the GCC plan.”

“We want to realize the goals of the revolution through the Gulf initiative,” said Al-Hazmi.


Who is Hadi

• Born in Thukain village of Al-Wade’ district in Abyan governorate on May 1st 1945.
• Graduated in 1964 from Aden Protectorate Army School, which was privately military school for qualifying sons of army officers of the southern Arab Union
• Had a scholarship to Britain and joined a military course on military terms and then joined also one year half special military course. During this course, he learned to speak English and graduated in 1966.
• He came back to Aden and had a military scholarship to Cairo on tanks until 1970
• In 1976, he received a four-year military scholarship to Russia on leadership and staff
• He worked as a leader of an armored division until the independence of the south Yemen from Britain in 1967, after the independence he was appointed as a leader of armored division at Al-Anad military base, in the western area of the south, then manager of armored school, then staff officer for armored weapons, after that staff officer for the military college and then director of human resources training circuit of the armed forces
• In 1972, he moved to Al-Dale’ area and was appointed as deputy leader of Karash area and he was a member of the mediation committee for ceasing fire and head of the military committee in mutual negotiations  which followed the war between the north and the south, after that he lived in Aden as a director of human resource training department of the south’s army
• When Abd Al-Fatah Ismail was removed from ruling the south of Yemen known as the peoples’ Democratic Republic of Yemen and Ali Naser Mohamed took over after him in 1980, he remained in his position as the director of training department of the army during bloody conflict in northern rural areas between the regime and the national front which was backed by the regime in the south
• In 1983, he was promoted  to deputy staff leader for supply and management of the army and he was also the chairman of the negotiating committee in militarizing deals with the Soviet Union and creating modern military brigades
• He worked with some of his colleagues on gathering military brigades who displaced from the south to the north during the bloody clashes with the national front with the northern regime.  He coordinated with the regime in the north and reorganize the conditions of these brigades were called the brigades of Yemen’s unity. He remained in the north of Yemen until May 22nd 1990 when the unification was announced between the Arab Republic of Yemen in the north and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen in the south
• He was appointed as a military leader of Al-Baida and participated in the 1994 civil war between Saleh’s regime and the socialist leaders of the former government in the south
• In May 1994, he was designated as a minister of defense by a republican decree
• On April 10th  1994, Saleh designated him as vice president of Yemen
• He was graded in military ranks starting with an officer in the southern Arab Army  in1966 until a lieutenant  general in 1997
• On Saturday evening 4th June 2011, Hadi took over the power of president of Yemen after Saleh left Yemen to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment from injuries due to attack on his compound amidst nationwide uprisings demanding an end to Saleh’s 33-year rule
• On Sunday Dec 25th the the parliament of Yemen has voted by consensus  that  Hadi is the sole candidate for early presidential election scheduled to take place on Feb 21st 2012 in line with the GCC power transition plan and its implementation mechanism.