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Yemen President Officially Steps Down After 33 Years In Power

February 27, 2012

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has officially stepped down after more than 30 years in power in the Arabian Peninsula country.

At a ceremony at the presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa, on February 27, Saleh formally handed over power to his former vice president, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who was elected in a single-candidate vote last week.

Saleh ruled Yemen for 33 years before agreeing to leave office under a U.S.- and Gulf Arab-backed power-transfer deal aimed at ending over a year of violence and political turmoil.

In exchange for stepping down, he is to receive immunity from prosecution. Saleh, who returned to Yemen last week after receiving medical treatment in the U.S., is the fourth veteran Arab leader to step down in the past year of "Arab Spring" unrest.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/yemen_president_officially_steps_down_after_33_years_in_power/24497436.html

Copyright (c) 2012. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.