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Yemen's Saleh signs deal to give up power

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a deal on Wednesday under which he will step down after 33 years in power and 10 months of protests against his rule that brought the country to the brink of civil war.

Yemeni president to get medical treatment in New York

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he will get medical treatment in New York immediately after he signed an agreement that would arrange his surrender of political power.

Who is Ali Abdullah Saleh?

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed Wednesday to step down amid a fierce uprising to oust him after 33 years in power. Saleh would leave office within 30 days in return for immunity from prosecution.

In March 1942, Saleh was born in a village near Sanaa. He received limited education before taking up a military career in 1958.

In 1964, Saleh graduated from a military academy in Sanaa and served in the armored forces. In July 1978, he was elected to be president of North Yemen after his predecessor was killed in a bomb attack.

Saleh had been the leader of North Yemen until 1990 when he became chairman of the presidential council of the Republic of Yemen, which was formed following the unity of North Yemen and South Yemen.

In 1999, Saleh became Yemen's first directly elected president of the unified Yemen, winning 96.3 percent of the votes.
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Backgrounder

Basic facts about Yemen

Basic facts about Yemen

Bordering Saudi Arabia on the north, Oman on the east, the Red Sea on the west and the Gulf of Aden on the south, Yemen covers an area of 555,000 square km which is of strategic importance to the world oil supplies. In February and March 2011, an uprising against the government began, and clashes with police and pro-government supporters have steadily intensified.