Education
Born in July 1939 in the Hugariah district (Taiz) of North Yemen, he was educated in Aden, where he subsequently worked in an oil refinery from 1957 to 1961 as an apprentice.
Born in July 1939 in the Hugariah district (Taiz) of North Yemen, he was educated in Aden, where he subsequently worked in an oil refinery from 1957 to 1961 as an apprentice.
He was summarily executed on 13 January 1986 along with three others, allegedly for "plotting to overthrow" Ali Nasir Muhammad's regime. In 1961 he became a school teacher in one of the Aden districts, and at the same time continuing political activity. He was elected to the NLF executive in the first, second and third NLF congresses, 1965-67.
In the fourth NLF congress he was instrumental in determining the progressive line of the revolution. 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, thus making him the country's de facto leader. In 1970 he was elected Chairman of Presidium.
He was elected Secretary General of the YSP at the first party congress in October 1978. In 1980 he resigned from all his posts for health reasons and was succeeded by Ali Nasir Muhammad. However, Ismail was appointed president of the party before he went to Moscow for medical treatment, until 1985, when he returned in the face of a mounting crisis between 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.
(See South Yemen Civil War) Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's mysterious disappearance. He was apparently killed when naval forces loyal to Ali Nasir shelled Aden.
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 undertook a leading role in the dialogue between NLF and other left parties in south Yemen leading to the formation of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP).
He was also elected a member of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council.