Long-form name: Republic of Yemen

Type: republic

Capital: Sanaa

Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Abyan, Adan, Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Marib, Sadah, Sana, Shabwah, Taizz

Independence: Republic of Yemen was established on 22 May 1990 with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK); the union is to be solidified during a 30-month transition period, which coincides with the remainder of the five-year terms of both legislatures

Constitution: 16 April 1991

Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)

Executive branch: five-member Presidential Council (president, vice president, two members from northern Yemen and one member from southern Yemen), prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives; note--northern Yemen's Consultative Assembly (Majlis Chura) and southern Yemen's Supreme People's Council (Majlis al-Shab al-Ala) will combine to form the basis for the new unicameral House of Representatives

Judicial branch: North--State Security Court; South--Federal High Court

Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen); Vice President Ali Salim al-BIDH (since 22 May 1990, secretary general of the Yemeni Socialist Party); Presidential Council Member Salim Salih MUHAMMED (southern Yemen); Presidential Council Member Kadi Abdul-Karim al-ARASHI (northern Yemen); Presidential Council Member Abdul-Aziz ABDUL-GHANI (northern Yemen); Prime Minister Haydar Abu Bakr al-ATTAS (since 22 May 1990, former president of South Yemen)

Political parties and leaders: General People's Congress, Ali Abdallah SALIH; Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP; formerly South Yemen's ruling party--a coalition of National Front, Bath, and Communist Parties), Ali Salim al-BIDH

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections: House of Representatives--last held NA (next to be held 26-27 May, 12 June, and 24 July 1991); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(301); number of seats by party NA; note--the 301 members of the new House of Representatives will come from North Yemen's Consultative Assembly (159 members), South Yemen's Supreme People's Council (111 members), and appointments by the New Presidential Council (31 members)

Communists: small number in North, greater but unknown number in South

Other political or pressure groups: conservative tribal groups, Muslim Brotherhood, leftist factions--pro-Iraqi Bathists, Nasirists, National Democratic Front (NDF)

Member of: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI; Chancery at Suite 840, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 965-4760 or 4761; there is a Yemeni Consulate General in Detroit and a Consulate in San Francisco; US--Ambassador Charles F. DUNBAR; Embassy at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa (mailing address is P. O. Box 22347 Sanaa, Republic of Yemen or Sanaa--Department of State, Washington, D. C. 20521-6330); telephone [967] (2) 238-842 through 238-852

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band

NOTE: The information regarding Yemen on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Yemen Government 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Yemen Government 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.