Ali Sálih

Ali Abdullah Saleh was a Yemeni politician who served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from July 1978, after the assassination of President Ahmad al-Ghashmi, to 22 May 1990, when he became the first President of Yemen following Yemeni unification. He led the country until his resignation on 25 February 2012 following the Yemeni Revolution. Often described as a dictator, he has been accused of plundering billions of dollars from the poorest Arab nation during his two decades in power.