Mohammad Abdul-Wali

Background

Abdul-Wali was born in Ethiopia. His mother was Ethiopian and his father had emigrated from northern Yemen.

Education

He was expelled from Egypt, and after a brief period in Yemen he moved to Moscow, where he learnt Russian and studied literature at the Gorky Institute.

Career

He was enrolled in the young country"s diplomatic corps and became chargé d"affaires first in Moscow and later in Berlin. He also had a brief spell as head of Yemen Airlines, but fell out of favour with the government and was imprisoned. He died in a never thoroughly investigated airplane crash on his way from Aden to Hadramaut in South Yemen along with a group of other ambassadors.

Achievements

• After finishing his studies in 1962, he returned to North Yemen, which just had won its independence.

Politics

In 1955, Abdul-Wali began his studies at the university of Cairo, where he got interested in Marxism.