Muhammad al-Badr

Muhammad al Badr Arabic:محمد البدر
Al-Badr in 1962
King and Imam of Yemen
Reign	19 – 26 September 1962
Predecessor	Ahmad bin Yahya
Successor	Title abolished(Abdullah al-SallalasPresidentof theYemen Arab Republic)
Born	(1926-02-15)15 February 1926 Sana'a,Kingdom of Yemen
Died	6 August 1996(1996-08-06)(aged 70) London,United Kingdom
Burial	Medina,Saudi Arabia
Issue	Ageel bin Muhammad al-Badr Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Badr
House	Rassids
Father	Ahmad bin Yahya
Religion	ZaidiShiaIslam

Muhammad Al-Badr(15 February 1926 – 6 August 1996) (Arabic:المنصور بالله محمد البدر بن أحمد) was the last king and ZaidiImamof theMutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen(North Yemen) and leader of themonarchistregions during theNorth Yemen Civil War(1962–1970). His full name wasAl-Mansur Bi'llah Muhammad Al-Badr bin Al-Nasir-li-dinu'llah Ahmad,Imamand Commander of the Faithful and King of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen.

Biography

Al-Badr was born in 1926 as oldest son ofAhmad bin Yahya,laterimamof theZaydisand king ofNorth Yemen.In 1944 he moved to Taizz in the south of the country, wherehis fatherhad already been the Imam's deputy for several years, to continue his education. Soon after the assassination ofImam Yahyain February 1948 plotted bySayyid Abdullah al-Wazir,al-Badr arrived inSana'a,the capital, but apparently only gave tacit support to the new regime. Meanwhile,Sayf al-Islam Ahmadhad managed to get away fromTaizzand made forHajjah,where he gathered the tribes around him, proclaimed himself Imam with the title of al-Nasir and within a month of the assassination had easily regained control of Sana'a and executed the principal perpetrators of the rebellion.

Sayf al-Islam al-Badr (as Muhammad now became), not yet 20, was clearly able to patch up speedily any misunderstandings with his father, for in late 1949 he was appointed his deputy overHodeida,the important port on theRed Sea.He was also made Minister of the Interior.

Al-Badr played a prominent role in quelling the revolt against his father, Imam Ahmad, in 1955 led by Ahmad's brother Sayf al-Islam Abdullah and afterwards was declared Crown Prince.

In that same year Ahmad bin Yahyaforged connections and signed agreementsduring a tour toSoviet bloccountries. In April 1956 he signed a mutual defence pact with Egypt, involving a unified military command, and in 1958 incorporated Yemen with theUnited Arab Republicof Egypt and Syria into what then became theUnited Arab States.

During the remaining period of Imam Ahmad's rule, Sayf al-Islam al-Badr held the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and from 1958 he was also the Imam's deputy over Sana'a.

Like most youngArableaders of his generation, Al-Badr had been a great admirer of theEgyptianPresidentGamal Abdel Nasser.So in 1959 while he was in charge of Yemen for a few months during Imam Ahmad's absence in Italy for medical treatment, he arranged forEgyptianexperts to come and help modernize Yemen in all fields, including the military. His father annulled these upon his return.

An assassination attempt on the life of Imam Ahmad in March 1961 left the latter gravely crippled, so in October Sayf al-Islam al-Badr took over effective control of the government. On 19 September 1962 Ahmad died in his sleep, al-Badr was proclaimed Imam and King and took the title of al-Mansur.

A week later rebels shelled his residence,Dar al-Bashair,in the Bir al-Azab district of Sana'a whence on September 26, 1962,Abdullah as-Sallal,whom al-Badr had appointed commander of the royal guard, staged a coup, and declared himself president of theYemen Arab Republic.

Al-Badr escaped to the north ofNorth Yemen,and rallied tribes that supported him in opposition to Sallal. Fighting erupted between the two groups, starting theNorth Yemen Civil War.Al-Badr started getting support fromSaudi Arabia,while therepublicansreceived support fromEgypt.

Although the revolution had announced to the world that al-Badr had died beneath the rubble of his palace,he had in fact managed to escape unhurt and set out to the north. As he proceeded on his journey the tribes rallied round him pledging him their unconditional allegiance as Amir al-Mumineen ( "Leader of the believers" ). These tribes were Zaydi Shia for whom unstinted loyalty to an imam from theAhl al-Bayt(the descendants of the Prophet) was a fundamental obligation of their religion.A few days later he held a press conference over the border in south-west Saudi Arabia. His uncleSayf al-Islam al-Hasan,who had been abroad and had been proclaimed Imam at the news of al-Badr's alleged demise, immediately gave allegiance to him together with all the princes of the Hamid al-Din family.Soon the entire tribal confederation of Bakil along with most of Hashid who occupied the central and northern highlands of Yemen and who had been Zaydis for centuries joined enthusiastically the cause of the Imam and the princes to fight the revolutionary regime.

In 1970, despite the fact that territorially most of the Yemen remained under the control of al-Badr and the Hamid al-Din family,Saudi Arabia,which had been the principal opponent of the Sana'a regime,recognized theYemen Arab Republicand other nations like theUnited Kingdomswiftly followed suit.

Stunned bySaudi Arabia's recognition of the republican regime which had been negotiated without any consultation with him whatsoever, al-Badr refused to stay any longer inSaudi Arabiaand demanded that he be permitted to leave the kingdom immediately. He went toEngland,where he lived quietly in a modesthouseinKent,only going abroad to visit the holy cities ofMeccaandMedinaand to call on relatives and friends in that part of the world.

He died in 1996 inLondonand was buried in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Honours

• Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic(28 November 1957).

See also

• North Yemen Civil War
• Bruce Conde