Revolutionary Democratic Party of Yemen ( ar, الحزب الديمقراطي الثوري اليمن) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

North Yemen North Yemen may refer to: * Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962) * Yemen Arab Republic The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...

, founded by a conference of the members of the

Arab Nationalist Movement The Arab Nationalist Movement ( ar, حركة القوميين العرب, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Ar ...

in North Yemen in June 1968. The conference resolved to break its organizational ties with the central structures of the ANM and form the Revolutionary Democratic Party as an independent Marxist-Leninist party.New Left Review
/ref>Armed Struggle in North Yemen
in

MERIP Reports The ''Middle East Report'' is a magazine published by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). The headquarters is in Tacoma, Washington. History and profile MERIP began in 1971 by releasing an irregularly scheduled six-page n ...

, No. 22. (Nov., 1973), pp. 24-26. Sultan Omar was the general secretary of the new party.Halliday, Fred
'' The Arabian Peninsula Opposition Movements''
in MERIP Reports, No. 130, The Contest for Arabia. (Feb., 1985), pp. 13-15. The objectives of the party included resistance against the

feudalists Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

and the

comprador bourgeoisie A comprador or compradore () is a "person who acts as an agent for foreign organizations engaged in investment, trade, or economic or political exploitation". A comprador is a native manager for a European business house in East and South East Asia ...

, recover lands claimed by

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and reunification with

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

. The party supported the struggle of the National Liberation Front in

against the rule of Qahtan ash-Sha'bi. The party supported the idea of taking up armed struggle, but initially the party leadership considered the conditions for guerrilla struggle in North Yemen premature. Generally the party had its main base in urban areas, and could not muster rural tribal forces against the government. The party had some links with junior army officers, but could not build up a strong military structure. On August 23–24, 1968 clashes erupted between government troops attacked militants of the party, resulting in a temporary setback for the party. In early 1970 the party founded the People's Revolutionary Army as its military wing. Alongside the Organisation of Revolutionary Resistors of Yemen, it began guerrilla warfare against government and tribal forces. On March 23, 1973, the party signed a joint appeal of political forces in North Yemen against the ceding of Yemeni territories to Saudi Arabia. The party was led by a

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

and a

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

. At its founding conference, an 11-member Central Committee was elected. On February 2, 1976, the party, together with the Organisation of Revolutionary Resistors of Yemen, the Labour Party, the

Popular Vanguard Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

and the Popular Democratic Union, founded the National Democratic Front in

San'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Govern ...

. On March 5, 1979 the party merged with the other founding parties of the NDF, forming the

Yemeni Popular Unity Party Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sha ...

. Four days later, the Popular Unity Party merged into the

Yemeni Socialist Party The Yemeni Socialist Party ( ar, الحزب الاشتراكي اليمني, ''al-Hizb al-Ishtiraki al-Yamani'', YSP) is a political party in Yemen. A successor of Yemen's National Liberation Front, it was the ruling party in South Yemen until Y ...

(but retaining the name 'Popular Unity Party' for activities in North Yemen). The NDF did however continue to exist as a separate structure, with other groups joining and leaving it. A party with the same name, led by Mabkhut Az-Zanibi, was later refounded, and active during the early 1990s. It might have been disbanded.

References

{{Authority control 1968 establishments in North Yemen Arab nationalism in Yemen Arab nationalist militant groups Arab Nationalist Movement breakaway groups Arab socialist political parties Communist parties in Yemen Defunct political parties in Yemen North Yemen Political parties established in 1968 Rebel groups in Yemen Yemeni Socialist Party