Cairo (dpa) – Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi was elected Yemen's new president with 99.8 percent of the vote, replacing Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was in power for 33 years. Hadi, 67, was vice president for more than 17 years but rarely appeared in public or spoke to the media. He was not even seen as a major player in the Yemeni political scene. That changed when Saleh was wounded in a bombing on his presidential complex in June as part of the massive civil unrest in the impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula. Saleh left for Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, and Hadi was designated acting president. In November, after Saleh signed a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal aimed at ending the unrest, Hadi was chosen unanimously in January by parliament to be the sole contender for the early presidential election. Saleh only signed the deal after months of international pressure in return for immunity against prosecution. According to the agreement, Hadi would serve a two-year term as president. The transitional period was expected to culminate in legislative and presidential elections within two years. Violence has gripped Yemen since January 2011 when thousands took to the streets, inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, demanding the ouster of Saleh. Hadi was born in the southern province of Abyan on May 1, 1945. He joined the army of South Yemen in 1970 and became a major general in the early 1990s. During his career, he traveled to Britain, Russia and Egypt to study military tactics. He held many senior posts within the southern army before the country's unification in May 1990. He later served as a defense minister before Saleh appointed him as his deputy in 1994 – a move that was seen as an attempt by Saleh to show Yemenis that there is a balance in power with a deputy from the southern part of the country. The biggest challenge facing Hadi would be to restore security in the country, especially as militants believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda have expanded their influence in the country over the past 12 months. He also faces demands from protesters and the opposition to purge the country's security and military institutions of Saleh's relatives. Hadi faces opposition from Shiite rebels known as the Houthis in northern Yemen as well as the Southern Movement, which calls for the separation of southern provinces from the republic. He must deal with economic challenges as the United Nations said last year that the country is heading towards a “humanitarian disaster” amid increasing food insecurity. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/hn3Fb Tags: Hadi, Leader, President, Profile Section: Yemen
