United States Ambassador to South Yemen

The area on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula that is now Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Middle East. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade, and later came under Ethiopian and Persian rule. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former north Yemen came under control of imams of various dynasties, usually of the Zaidi sect, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times.

Egyptian Sunni caliphs occupied much of north Yemen throughout the 11th century. By the 16th century and again in the 19th century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its imams exerted control over south Yemen.

In 1839, the British occupied the port of Aden and established it as a colony to provide a coaling station for ships en route to India. They also set up a zone of loose alliances (known as protectorates) around Aden to act as a protective buffer. The protectorate was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when Aden was made a crown colony with the remaining land designated as east Aden and west Aden protectorates. By 1965, most of the tribal states within the protectorates and the Aden colony proper had joined to form the British-sponsored Federation of South Arabia.

In 1965, two rival nationalist groups, the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF), turned to terrorism in their struggle to control the country. In 1967, in the face of uncontrollable violence, British troops began withdrawing, federation rule collapsed, and NLF elements took control after eliminating their FLOSY rivals. South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November 30, 1967, and was renamed the People's Republic of South Yemen.

The United States recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. A U.S. embassy in Aden was established on December 7, 1967, with William L. Eagleton, Jr., as Chargé d'Affaires "ad interim".

In June 1969, a radical Marxist wing of NLF gained power. The new regime severed diplomatic relations with the United States on October 24, 1969. An American ambassador had not yet been appointed for South Yemen and Eagleton was still serving as the chargé d’affaires when relations were severed. Two days later all diplomatic personnel were withdrawn from the country and the U.S. embassy was closed.

On December 1, 1970, the regime changed the name of the country to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

The United States resumed diplomatic relations with the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen on April 30, 1990. On May 22, 1990, the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen united to form the Republic of Yemen.

For subsequent ambassadors to the Republic of Yemen, see United States Ambassador to Yemen.

For ambassadors to the Yemen Arab Republic, see United States Ambassador to North Yemen.

References

*Yemen
*History of Yemen
*People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
* [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35836.htm U.S. Dep’t of State: Background Notes on Yemen]
* [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/11276.htm U.S. Dep’t of State: U.S. Ambassadors to Southern Yemen]