North Yemen is a term used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic (1962–1990), its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962), and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.

Neither state ever self-designated as "North Yemen" and the term only came into general use when the Federation of South Arabia gained independence as the People's Republic of Yemen in 1967 making such a distinction necessary. Prior to 1967, both states were known in short form simply as "Yemen." In 1970, South Yemen changed its name to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen thus eliminating any directional reference in either of the Yemens' official names but the existence of two Yemens preserved the North Yemen and South Yemen designations in popular parlance. Alternate forms were "Yemen (Sanaa)" for North Yemen and "Yemen (Aden)" for South Yemen after their respective capital cities.

The merger of the two Yemens in 1990 ended the term's association with an independent state but "North Yemen" continues to be used to refer to the area of the former Yemen Arab Republic and its history and, anachronistically, to pre-1967 polities and events (e.g., the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen or the North Yemen Civil War).

The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية‎ al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemen ⁱ/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن‎ al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.

One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.

Ali Abdullah Saleh (Arabic: علي عبدالله صالح‎; born 21 March 1942) is a Yemeni politician who was President of Yemen from 1990 to 2012. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) from 1978 until 1990; upon the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen in 1990, he became President of Yemen.

After more than 33 years in power, Saleh signed the Gulf Cooperation Council agreement in November 2011, paving the way for his vice president to become acting president until February 21, 2012; at that point the vice president would be elected to the presidency. On January 22, 2012, the Yemeni parliament passed a law that granted Saleh immunity from being prosecuted and he left Yemen for treatment in the United States. Saleh stepped down and formally ceded power to his deputy Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi at the Presidential Palace on 27 February 2012.

Saleh was born in the town of Bait el-Ahmar, in the Al-Ahmar family of the small Sanhan tribe, a tribe whose territories lie some 20 kilometers southeast of the capital Sana'a (the Al-Ahmar family of Sanhan is often falsely confounded with the same-named ruling family of the Hashid tribal confederacy, a confederacy to which the Sanhan tribe belongs). Saleh is a Zaydi Shia Muslim. He is a "non-Hashimi" Zaydi (not a direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's grandfather), and would not have been eligible to rule under the Zaydi Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen that ruled the country until 1962.

Terius Youngdell Nash (Born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is known for co-writing chart topping hits such as "Baby" for Justin Bieber, "Umbrella" for Rihanna and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" for Beyoncé, as well as for his three solo albums, Love Hate, Love vs. Money, and Love King.

Terius Nash was born in Rockingham, North Carolina and moved with his mother, Reva Nash, to Atlanta at the age of 3. He played trumpet, drums, and guitar as a child. His mother died in 1992 when Nash was fifteen years old, an event which would inspire him to write songs. He states that the death of his mother gave him a "soft spot" for women, which he credits to his desire to write songs about female empowerment such as Rihanna's "Umbrella". He moved in with his grandfather, a concrete mason who instilled a strong work ethic in young Nash. Of his grandfather, Nash recalls "He came out of a bad time for blacks in the South, but even though we lived in the hood, we had a boat, some cars and a house that was paid for. So I’ve always had a different outlook on life. There’s nothing I can’t do."