Former Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi Dies in Saudi Arabia
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Former Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has died in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, 28 May 2026, according to Yemeni presidential sources confirmed to AFP.
Hadi, aged in his 80s, passed away in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. A source requesting anonymity stated the former leader died following a sudden health crisis.
Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has resided in Saudi Arabia since 2015, fleeing Yemen after a civil war erupted between Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who seized the capital Sanaa, and a Saudi-led military coalition.
In April 2022, under strong diplomatic pressure, Hadi transferred power to a newly formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), coinciding with the start of a UN-mediated ceasefire.
Born in 1945, Hadi was a career military officer, graduating from a military academy in 1964 and undergoing training in the UK and specialised armoured weapons training in Egypt until 1970.
His political career advanced when he allied with Ali Abdullah Saleh before the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990. He served as Defence Minister in 1994 and later as Vice President for years under Saleh’s leadership.
Hadi assumed power in 2012 after Arab Spring protests forced Saleh, who had ruled for 33 years, to step down. He won the election unopposed with 99.8% of the vote.
However, his presidency was marked by escalating conflict, with the Houthis’ capture of Sanaa in 2014 leading to Hadi’s house arrest in early 2015 before he fled to Aden and then Riyadh.
Although initially expected to unify Yemen, Hadi’s tenure saw the country descend into a protracted conflict, described by the UN as one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
In addition to his military and political career, Hadi was known as an author, having written several books on military defence in mountainous regions. He leaves behind a wife and several children.
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