Southern Yemen

People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
جمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبية Jumhūrīyat al-Yaman ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyah ash-Sha‘bīyah
Satellite state of the Soviet Union (1970–1990)
1967–1990
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem الجمهورية المتحدة (Arabic) al-Jumhūrīyah al-Muttaḥidâh "United Republic" (Original lyrics)
The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1990.
Capital		Aden
Languages		Arabic English Mehri Soqotri Hobi Shehri South Arabian
Religion		Islam
Government		Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state
General Secretary
•	1978–1980	Abdul Fattah Ismail
•	1980–1986	Ali Nasir Muhammad
•	1986–1990	Ali Salim al-Beidh
President
•	1967–1969 (first)	Qahtan al-Shaabi
•	1986–1990 (last)	Haidar al-Attas
Prime Minister
•	1969	Faysal al-Shaabi
•	1969–1971	Muhammad Ali Haitham
•	1971–1985	Ali Nasir Muhammad
•	1985–1986	Haidar al-Attas
•	1986–1990	Yasin Said Numan
Legislature		Supreme People's Council
Historical era		Cold War
•	Independence declared	30 November 1967
•	UN membership	14 December 1967
•	Constitution adopted	31 October 1978
•	Unification	22 May 1990
Area
•	1990	360,133 km2 (139,048 sq mi)
Population
•	1990 est.	2,585,484
Density		7/km2 (19/sq mi)
Currency		South Yemeni dinar
Calling code		+969
Preceded by Succeeded by Federation of South Arabia Protectorate of South Arabia Yemen
ISO 3166-1 = YD ISO 3166-3 = YDYE

North Yemen-South Yemen Border Conflict of 1972
North & South Yemen
Date 1972 Location North Yemen-South Yemen border Result No territorial changes
Belligerents
North Yemen Supported by:  Saudi Arabia  Jordan United States  Republic of China  United Kingdom  West Germany	South Yemen National Democratic Front Supported by:  Soviet Union  Cuba  East Germany  Czechoslovakia  Libya
Commanders and leaders
Ali Abdullah Saleh	Abdel Fattah Ismail
Strength
	24,000

The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (Arabic: جمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبية‎‎ Jumhūrīyat al-Yaman ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyah ash-Sha‘bīyah), also referred to as South Yemen, Democratic Yemen, Yemen (Aden) or the South Arabian Federation, was a socialist state in the southern and eastern provinces of the present-day Republic of Yemen, including the island of Socotra.

It was united with the Yemen Arab Republic (commonly known as "North Yemen") on 22 May 1990, to form the present-day Yemen. After four years, however, South Yemen declared its secession from the north, which resulted in the north occupying south Yemen and the 1994 civil war.

In 1838, Sultan Muhsin Bin Fadl of the nearby state of Lahej ceded 194 km² (75 sq. miles) including Aden to the British. On 19 January 1839, the British East India Company landed Royal Marines at Aden to occupy the territory and stop attacks by pirates against British shipping to India. It then became an important trading hub between British India and the Red Sea, and following the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, it became a coaling station for ships en route to India. Aden was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when the city of Aden became the Colony of Aden. The Aden hinterland and Hadhramaut to the east formed the remainder of what would become South Yemen and was not administered directly by Aden but were tied to Britain by treaties of protection with local rulers of traditional polities that, together, became known as the Aden Protectorate. Economic development was largely centered in Aden, and while the city flourished, the states of the Aden Protectorate stagnated.