Republic of Yemen

See also: Yemen

See also: U.S. policy towards Yemen

The formal government of Yemen is the Republic of Yemen, formed, in 1990, from North Yemen (a part of the Ottoman Empire until 1918), and South Yemen (a British protectorate until 1967). North Yemen had existed as the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen until 1962 and as the Yemen Arab Republic thereafter, with a capital in Sanaa, and South Yemen as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, having Aden as its capital. Ali Abdallah Salih, former president of North Yemen, is the current head of state.

While the Republic has an obvious Presidential system with legislative and judicial branches, Yemen has a unique combination of central and tribal government.