Abdul Karim al-Iryani

Abdul Karim Ali Aleryani ( _ar. عبد الكريم علي يحي محمدعبد ألله الإرياني) (born 12 October 1934) was the Prime Minister of Yemen from 29 April 1998 to 31 March 2001. Aleryani, along with President Ali Abdullah Saleh, is a member of the General People's Congress (GPC).

Before the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen merged with the northern Yemen Arab Republic, al-Iryani held posts as Minister of Development (1974-1976), Minister of Education (1976-1978), Prime Minister (1980-1983), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1984-1990) in the northern YAR.

Following unification in 1990, Aleryani continued to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the united Republic of Yemen until 1993, when he became Minister of Development briefly before returning to foreign affairs in 1994. Aleryani was appointed Prime Minister after Faraj Said Bin Ghanem abruptly resigned on 29 April 1998. He served in this capacity until 31 March 2001, when he was succeeded by Abdul Qadir Bajamal.

Al-Iryani is known for being extremely intelligent in foreign affairs and political science. He is considered the greatest prime minister of Yemen since the birth of the republic. He is known for being an extremely ethical man working in an extremely corrupt government. Many saw his resignation as a true blow to internal affairs of the Republic of Yemen.Fact|date=January 2008

During the Saudi-Yemen border crisis Al-Iryani was repeatedly approached by the Saudis with lavish gifts, and other financial incentives. Their condition was for Al-Iryani to share all the information he knows about the crisis. He refused on several occasions and after a resolution between the two countries was found the Saudis admitted that they had repeatedly bribed men in the Yemeni government and the only man they were unable to corrupt was Al-Iryani. As a result the Saudis have called him the most principled man in the Yemeni government. Fact|date=January 2008