RIYADH, 30 December 2007 — Abdullah ibn Hussein Al-Ahmar, the 74-year-old speaker of Yemen’s Parliament, died yesterday at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) of cancer, the Embassy of Yemen announced. His body was flown yesterday afternoon to Sanaa.
Because of illness, Al-Ahmar had been unable to perform his political duties for more than a year, much of which he spent in the Kingdom for treatment. He was re-elected speaker of the Parliament in 1997 and 2003.
Al-Ahmar held several important positions during his political career. In May 1964 he was nominated minister of the interior and held that position under three subsequent governments. More recently, Al-Ahmar played a key role in a border-delineation agreement between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
According to a Yemeni official source, Al-Ahmar’s funeral will take place tomorrow morning in Sanaa.
Yemen announced an official three-day mourning that began yesterday.
It was not clear who would succeed Al-Ahmar as head of the Yemeni Parliament, a position he had held since 1993, or as head of the main opposition Islah (Reform) Party.
Born in 1933, Al-Ahmar was head of the powerful Hashed tribal confederation and has played a key role in the turbulent politics of Yemen for almost half a century.
Al-Ahmar took part in elections through his Islah party, which combines tribal and Islamic elements, following the unification of northern Yemen with the communist south of the country in 1990 after years of conflict.
He led Islah since it was established in 1990 after reunification. Islah, which is a coalition of tribes, Islamists and business people, has been an important player in Yemeni politics since its inception.
Despite the fact that he was leading the major opposition party, Al-Ahmar maintained strong tribal ties with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The family members of the deceased will receive people who come to offer condolences at the Apollo Hall in Sanaa.
The Kingdom is home to more than 1.5 million Yemeni expatriates and the two countries maintain cordial relations.
