Many people believe that becoming Yemen's second post-revolutionary
president was something that Judge Abdul-Rahman al-Eryani
richly deserved. Instead, he was forced into years of exile, despite his long history of national service. Born in 1910 in Ibb governorate, al-Eryani received his early religious training from the scholar Abdul-Wase'e al-Eryani. His father, who also provided him with religious education, was
appointed judge of Ibb in 1918, just at the end of the First World War—incidentally, the same date as the beginning of the monarchy in North Yemen. At age 27, al-Eryani followed in his father's footsteps and became a judge for the al-Nadira area, followed by an appointment in al-Odain. Despite his official position, al-Eryani was active in the revolutionary movement to overthrow the monarchy of Imam Yahya. He took part in the failed coup attempt of 1948, the aftermath of which saw many of the revolutionaries killed or imprisoned for long periods. Al-Eryani himself spent seven years of his life in Al-Mahweet prison for the part he played. However, he continued his revolutionary activities, which, in 1955, were punishable by execution. The continuous efforts of dedicated Yemenis finally succeeded in 1962 to end monarchical rule in Yemen. Al-Eryani was appointed Minister of Justice in the new republican regime. He was appointed to numerous posts in the years that followed, most notably becoming head of the Republican Council. On June 13, 1974, amid a dangerous political climate that threatened another coup in Yemen, al-Eryani submitted his resignation to the Shoura Council, and subsequently left for Syria. "I left for Syria, willingly—to give the one who would occupy my post the full opportunity to succeed," he later said of his experience. "When I arrived in Syria, I was received in an official ceremony, led by
President Hafez al-Asad who said, ‘We appreciate the judge for his personality—not for his post.'" "Despite the fact that I quit willingly, I was not allowed to come back to Yemen," he said. His move to Syria was expected to be temporary—only for a month or two—but he found himself effectively barred from re-entering Yemen. "When the late former president, al-Hamdi, visited my home in Syria, he told me that the tribal sheiks were against my return," al-Eryani said. Al-Ghashmi became president after al-Hamdi was assassinated, and the new president openly apologised to al-Eryani for his not being allowed to return home to his country. "But then President Ali Abdullah Saleh asked us—without any solicitations, mind you—he asked me and al-Salal and others who had worked for the Yemeni national cause to come back," he said. "It was the first initiative of its kind in the Arab world outside of Lebanon." "I still remember how impressed the Syrians were when President al-Hamdi visited me; they said, ‘We hope that all Arab countries will follow the Yemenis' example of this generous treatment,'" he said."When I quit my work with the government, I also quit my relationships with all political movements as well, apart from giving the presidents pieces of advice regarding the prophet's regulations (Peace Be Upon Him)." Abdul-Rahman al-Eryani spent the rest of his life researching and writing books on Yemeni culture. He died in Damascus in March, 1998.