Draft:Embassy of the United States, Sanaa

=== North Yemen ===

=== North Yemen ===

An American consulate operated in [[Aden]] during its time as a [[crown colony]] of the [[British Empire]]. It was involved in monitoring the activities of the local sheikhdoms as well as [[North Yemen]] prior to the establishment of a diplomatic mission.{{Cite book |last=Prados |first=Edward |url=https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/wps/ccas/0017352/f_0017352_14855.pdf |title=The US And Yemen: A Half-Century of Engagement |publisher=[[Center for Contemporary Arab Studies]] |year=2005 |format=pdf}}{{Reference page|page=11|pages=}} The US established relations with the [[Kingdom of Yemen]] in 1946, but it was only until 1959 when a diplomatic mission was established in the nation's then-capital [[Taiz]].{{Cite web |last=Johnsen |first=Gregory |date=2019-09-30 |title=Seen Only in a Saudi Shadow: Why the US Misunderstands and Missteps in Yemen |url=https://sanaacenter.org/publications/analysis/8135 |access-date=2026-01-28 |website=Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies |language=en}} The [[legation]] upgraded to the status of an embassy on January 28, 1963.{{Cite web |last=Yemen |first=U. S. Mission to |date=2023-11-15 |title=History of U.S.-Yemen Relations |url=https://ye.usembassy.gov/history-of-u-s-yemen-relations/ |access-date=2026-01-28 |website=U.S. Mission to Yemen |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last=Osman |first=Khalil Fadl |url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/Yemen_at_the_Crossroads.html?id=rVHGEQAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |title=Yemen at the Crossroads: Crisis and Reconstruction |last2=Hedaya |first2=Mona |date=2026-03-13 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=9781040606957 |page=74 |language=en |access-date=2026-04-24}} The mission was headed by a [[Chargé d'affaires ad interim|''chargé d'affaires ad interim'']] from 1962 to 1967, reflecting Yemen's relative insignificance in American foreign policy at the time.

The United States established relations with the [[Kingdom of Yemen]] in 1946, but it was only until 1959 when a diplomatic mission was established in the nation's capital of [[Taiz]]. name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Johnsen |first=Gregory |date=2019-09-30 |title=Seen Only in a Saudi Shadow: Why the US Misunderstands and Missteps in Yemen |url=https://sanaacenter.org/publications/analysis/8135 |access-date=2026-01-28 |website=Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies |language=en}} Prior to then, diplomatic activities in the area during the late 1950s were officially accredited through the US embassy in Jeddah but managed by the consulate in [[Aden]], at the time a [[crown colony]] of the [[British Empire]].{{Cite book |last=Prados |first=Edward |url=https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/wps/ccas/0017352/f_0017352_14855.pdf |title=The US And Yemen: A Half-Century of Engagement |publisher=[[Center for Contemporary Arab Studies]] |year=2005 |format=pdf}}{{Reference page|page=11|pages=}} name=":4">{{Cite web |year=2011 |title=Country and Subject Reader Series: Yemen |url=https://adst.org/Readers/Yemen.pdf |access-date=2026-04-27 |website=[[Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training]]}}{{Reference page|page=52|pages=}} Chargé d'affaires [[William R. Crawford Jr.]] secured a lease for two buildings in Taiz from an influential landlord, one of which was meant to for the mission while the other was the former embassy of the [[Soviet Union]], which the landlord and the Imam of Yemen insisted be bought alongside the former. />{{Reference page|page=15}} The establishment of the legation in Taiz was described as "daunting" due to the primitiveness and lack on infrastructure of North Yemen. But with support from Italy and Ethiopia, which had larger presence in Yemen, the legation was "comfortable and adequately supported" by 1960 and had opened a [[USAID]] mission in 1961. name=":4" />{{Reference page|page=52|pages=}} In mid-1962, the [[Department of State]] ordered a [[feasibility study]] for the establishment of an embassy in Taiz, which ambassador [[Parker T. Hart]] believed would help spur North Yemen to join the faction of Arab states opposing [[Nasserism]]. />{{Reference page|page=|pages=53–54}} The [[John F. Kennedy administration]] approved the launching of an embassy in January 1963,=":4" />{{Reference page|page=63|pages=}} with the legation's status being upgraded on January 28.{{Cite book |last=Osman |first=Khalil Fadl |url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/Yemen_at_the_Crossroads.html?id=rVHGEQAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |title=Yemen at the Crossroads: Crisis and Reconstruction |last2=Hedaya |first2=Mona |date=2026-03-13 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=9781040606957 |page=74 |language=en |access-date=2026-04-24}}

When republican rebels [[September 26 Revolution|overthrew the kingdom]] and established the [[Yemen Arab Republic]] (YAR) in 1962, sparking the [[North Yemen civil war]], the US granted them recognition but continued to host its embassy in Taiz and not the new capital of Sanaa. According to then-junior officers David and Marjorie Ransom, this was because chargé d'affaires Harlan B. Clark resisted efforts to move the embassy despite instructions from the [[Department of State]], owing to the worse living conditions in Sanaa compared to Taiz. Once Clark departed from Yemen in August 1966, the embassy immediately moved to Sanaa, which at the time was controlled by the puppet regime of [[Abdullah al-Sallal]] backed by the [[Egyptian military]]. Tensions between Egyptian forces and the embassy were high, eventually resulting in them accusing two [[USAID]] workers in Taiz of destroying an Egyptian supply depot and declaring 23 embassy staff ''[[persona non grata]].''{{Cite web |title=Foreign Service Newly-Weds in 1960s Yemen |url=https://adst.org/2017/06/foreign-service-newly-weds-1960s-yemen/ |access-date=2026-01-28 |language=en-US|website=[[Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816095040/https://adst.org/2017/06/foreign-service-newly-weds-1960s-yemen/|archive-date=2017-08-16|url-status=live}}

When republican rebels [[September 26 Revolution|overthrew the kingdom]] and established the [[Yemen Arab Republic]] (YAR) in 1962, sparking the [[North Yemen civil war]], the US granted them recognition but continued to host its embassy in Taiz and not the new capital of Sanaa. According to former chargé d'affaires James N. Cortada, the embassy did not move immediately because transferring equipment and attaining accomodations in Sanaa was difficult, and the mission was already well-set in Taizso "It didn't make any sense to move out of there until the road was finished."{{Reference page|page=86|pages=}} Then-junior officers David and Marjorie Ransom have claimed the chargé d'affaires at the time, Harlan B. Clark, resisted efforts to move despite instructions from the State Department owing to the worse living conditions in Sanaa. Once Clark departed from Yemen in August 1966, the embassy immediately moved to Sanaa, which at the time was controlled by the puppet regime of [[Abdullah al-Sallal]] backed by the [[Egyptian military]]. Tensions between Egyptian forces and the embassy were high, eventually resulting in them accusing two [[USAID]] workers in Taiz of destroying an Egyptian supply depot and declaring 23 embassy staff ''[[persona non grata]].''{{Cite web |title=Foreign Service Newly-Weds in 1960s Yemen |url=https://adst.org/2017/06/foreign-service-newly-weds-1960s-yemen/ |access-date=2026-01-28 |language=en-US|website=[[Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816095040/https://adst.org/2017/06/foreign-service-newly-weds-1960s-yemen/|archive-date=2017-08-16|url-status=live}}

Fearing further action, secretary of state [[Dean Rusk]] ordered the evacuation of the embassy, which was completed on May 1, 1967. A month later, the YAR along with other Arab countries severed relations with the US in response to the [[Six-Day War]], after which Egypt withdrew from North Yemen. Bilateral relations with the YAR were restored and the Sanaa embassy reopened in July 1972 following a visit by secretary of state [[William P. Rogers]], with [[William R. Crawford Jr.]] becoming the first ambassador in residence for Yemen on December 19, 1972.

Fearing further action, secretary of state [[Dean Rusk]] ordered the evacuation of the embassy, which was completed on May 1, 1967. A month later, the YAR along with other Arab countries severed relations with the US in response to the [[Six-Day War]], after which Egypt withdrew from North Yemen. Bilateral relations with the YAR were restored and the Sanaa embassy reopened in July 1972 following a visit by secretary of state [[William P. Rogers]], with [[William R. Crawford Jr.]] becoming the first ambassador in residence for Yemen on December 19, 1972.>{{Cite web |last=Yemen |first=U. S. Mission to |date=2023-11-15 |title=History of U.S.-Yemen Relations |url=https://ye.usembassy.gov/history-of-u-s-yemen-relations/ |access-date=2026-01-28 |website=U.S. Mission to Yemen |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Republic of Yemen ===

=== Republic of Yemen ===