Abdul Fattah Ismail

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Abd al-Fattah Ismail Ali Al-Jawfi (1939–1986) (Arabic: عبد الفتاح إسماعيل علي الجوفي) was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council, head of state of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, and founder, chief ideologue, and first leader of the Yemeni Socialist Party from 21 December 1978 to 21 April 1980.

Born in July 1939 in Hugariah district of north Yemen, he was educated in Aden, where he subsequently worked in an oil refinery from 1957 to 1961 as an apprentice. As a co-founder of the Arab Nationalist Movement in South Yemen, he contributed to the formation of a number of Movement cells before he was arrested by the British authorities in Aden for political incitement of workers.

In 1961 he became a school teacher in one of Aden districts, and at the same time continuing political activity. He was a co-founder of the National Front for the Liberation of South Yemen (NLF). After the NLF started the 14 October 1963 Revolution for the liberation of south Yemen from British colonial rule, Ismail became a full time revolutionary, whereby he undertook the leadership of the NLF underground military wing (fedayeen) in Aden, as well as political activity.

He was elected to the NLF executive in the first, second and third NLF congresses, 1965-67. After south Yemen gained independence in 1967 he was appointed Minister of Culture and Yemeni Unity. And in the fourth NLF congress he was instrumental in determining the progressive line of the revolution. But in March 1968 he was arrested by the right wing of the NLF and went into exile, where he drafted the program for Accomplishing National Democratic Liberation, a leftist manifesto. He undertook a leading role in the consolidation of left wing of NLF which subsequently regained power in the 22 June 1969 "Correction Step."

Subsequent to the "Correction Step" Ismail was elected Secretary General of the NLF Central Committee, and a member of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council. In 1970 he was elected Chairman of Presidium. He undertook a leading role in the dialogue between NLF and other left parties in south Yemen leading to the formation of the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP). He was elected Secretary General of the YSP in the first party congress in October 1978.

In 1980 he resigned from all his posts for health reasons and was succeeded by Ali Nasser Muhammad. However, Ismail was appointed president of the party before he went into exile in Moscow until 1985, when he was allowed to return in the face of a mounting crisis between Ali Nasser Muhammad and his opponents in the YSP.

In October 1985 he was elected to the YSP Politburo and as a Secretary of the Central Committee, but the crisis had erupted on January 13, 1986, into a violent struggle in Aden between Ali Nasir's supporters and opponents. Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's mysterious disappearance. Some 60,000 people, including the deposed Ali Nasir, fled to north Yemen.