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Yemeni unification

Yemeni unification (Arabic: الوحدة اليمنية, romanized: al-waḥda al-Yamaniyya) took place on May 22, 1990, when the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) was united with the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen), forming the Republic of Yemen.[1]

Native name

al-waḥda al-Yamaniyya

الوحدة اليمنية

May 22, 1990 (1990-05-22)

 North Yemen
 South Yemen

Unification of Yemen

  • Sanaa becomes the capital of unified Yemen

Aftermath[edit]

Adopting a Western style governmental system, Yemen held its first direct presidential elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to a 5-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections. Yemen held its second multiparty parliamentary elections in April 1997. Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the presidential term by two years, thus moving the next presidential elections to 2006. The amendments also extended the parliamentary term of office to a 6-year term, thus moving elections for these seats to 2003. On 20 February 2001, a new constitutional amendment created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote). Yemen is now a dominant-party system with the General People's Congress in power.


Friction and troubles continued, elements in the south perceive unfair treatment by the north.[21] This has given birth to a popular movement called the South Yemen Movement which calls for the return of an independent southern state.[22] In 2015, this time as a pawn in the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Yemen again was engulfed in civil war, which continues to this day.

The and the South Yemeni dinar remained legal tender during a transitional period. In 1991, the dinar was withdrawn from circulation, with 26 rial exchanged for one dinar. In 1993, the first coins were issued for the Republic of Yemen called Yemeni rials.

North Yemeni rial

The capital of the Republic of Yemen is North's old capital, .

Sana'a

The South's "" became the country's national anthem.

United Republic

September 26 and October 14 are both celebrated as Revolution Day, with the former celebrating the North's revolution against the and the latter celebrating the South's revolution against the British Empire.

imams

November 30 is celebrated as Independence Day, as it is the day the South gained independence from the British, as opposed to November 1, which was celebrated in the north as Independence Day from the .

Ottoman Empire

The Republic of Yemen kept the North's name, Yemen, as opposed to the South's Democratic Yemen.

United Nations

The Republic of Yemen accepts responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors.

[23]

The Republic of Yemen kept the South's system of (Muhafazah), and split the North's liwa (provinces) into smaller governorates, leaving the current Governorates of Yemen.

Governorates

The Republic of Yemen uses the North's , +967, as opposed to the South's +969.

calling code

The Republic of Yemen uses the North's alphabetic codes (alpha-2: YE, alpha-3: YEM), as opposed to the South's (alpha-2: YD, alpha-3: YMD); a new numeric code was assigned for the unified country (887) to replace the old numeric codes (North: 886; South: 720), as is the custom for any merging of countries.

ISO 3166-1

Southern Movement

South Yemen insurgency

Yemeni Socialist Party

Al-Bab, essays on Yemeni subjects

Day, Stephen, , Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2010

Yemen on the Brink