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| 1984 |
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| Discovery of oil in the eastern part of North Yemen. Export began in 1988. | 1 |
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| 1986, Jan. 13 |
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| A shootout at a politburo meeting left four prominent South Yemeni politicians dead, including former president Abd al-Fattah Isma`il and former army commander Ali Ahmad Nasir Antar. The incident was planned by Pres. Ali Nasir, who thereby provoked a brief civil war in which he was ousted from power. Haydar Abu Bakr al-Attas emerged as the new president. | 2 |
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| 1990, May 22 |
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| UNIFICATION OF NORTH AND SOUTH YEMEN. Yemen thereby became the most populous country on the Arabian Peninsula (9.5 million from North Yemen, 2.5 million from South Yemen). Ali Abdallah Saleh, former president of North Yemen, became the first president of the new country. Haydar Abu Bakr al-Attas, former president of South Yemen, was appointed prime minister. | 3 |
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| 1994, May 5 |
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| Civil war broke out in Yemen between northerners loyal to Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh and southerners supporting V.P. Ali Salem al-Baidh. The southerners sought a redivision of the state, which had united in 1990. The northern forces prevailed and the union was preserved. | 4 |
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| 1998, Dec. 28 |
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| The militant Islamic faction known as the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army abducted several Western tourist groups; four members of the groups were killed after a muddled rescue plan was put into action. Faction leader Zein Al-Abidine al-Mihdar promised more attacks with the overall goal of turning Yemen into an Islamic state. | 5 |
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| 1999, Sept. 23 |
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| Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected for a third term and claimed 96.3% of the votes cast. The Socialist Party was not allowed to enter a candidate; this explained Saleh's great victory. | 6 |
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| 2000, Oct. 12 |
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| The U.S.S. Cole was bombed by terrorists while it was refueling in Aden. Seventeen soldiers were killed and dozens injured in the attack. Saudi exile Osama bin Laden was suspected of organizing the attack. | 7 |
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