Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, Yemen’s former president who led the country’s internationally recognised government from 2012 to 2022, has died at the age of 80.
The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council confirmed his death on Thursday. No official cause was released, though Hadi had a history of heart problems and had previously sought medical treatment in the United States. He had been living in exile in Saudi Arabia in recent years.
A career military officer, Hadi served as vice president under longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh before assuming the presidency in 2012 following a popular uprising. His tenure was marked by the 2014 Houthi takeover of Sanaa and the subsequent devastating civil war that drew in a Saudi-led coalition in 2015.
Hadi handed over power in 2022 to a new eight-member Presidential Leadership Council amid efforts to resolve the long-running conflict. He is remembered as a reserved figure who struggled to hold Yemen together during one of its most turbulent periods.
