United States Ambassador to North Yemen

The United States recognized the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen in 1946 and commissioned its first ambassador, J. Rives Childs to the Kingdom of Yemen on August 22, 1946. A diplomatic legation was established in Ta'izz. At that time the ambassador to Saudi Arabia was concurrently commissioned to Yemen while resident in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Following a coup d'état in North Yemen in 1962, the nation was renamed Yemen Arab Republic. A period of civil war ensued for the next five years. The United States maintained diplomatic relations with the Kingdom but no ambassador was accredited to the nation. A series of chargés d'affaires maintained the legation during that period. Also during that time, the legation in Ta'izz was raised to embassy status on January 28, 1963 and the embassy was transferred to San'a in 1966. The Yemen Arab Republic severed relations with the United States June 7, 1967. A U.S. Interests Section was established in the Italian Embassy on April 10, 1970. The embassy in San'a was re-established on July 1, 1972. The first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, William R. Crawford, Jr., was appointed on October 12, 1972. On May 22, 1990, the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) announced that they were forming a united Republic of Yemen.