Date and Place of Birth:
12 October 1934, Eryan- Ibb (Yemen).
Education:
Dr. Al-Eryani earned a B.Sc. and an M.S.c. in Agriculture from the University of Georgia in 1962 and 1964, respectively. He received his PhD. in Biochemical Genetics from Yale University in 1968.
Professional Experience:
Dr. Al-Eryani led agricultural projects for development such as the Wadi Zabib Irrigation Project from 1968 to 1972 and later he held the position of Chairman of the Central Planning Committee (1972-1974). He was appointed Head of Sana’a University in December of 1976.
Political Career:
Dr. Al-Eryani became Minister of Development in 1974, a position which he held until 1976. He has advised, chaired and directed numerous foundations and organizations dealing with development, including the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
In December of 1976 Dr. Al-Eryani was nominated Minister of Education, and became elected Prime Minister for the first time in 1980. After leaving office Dr. Al-Eryani served as Chairman of The Supreme Council for Reconstruction of the Earthquake-Affected Areas in the Central Highland in Yemen. He served as Vice Prime Minister as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1984 until 1993. Later on he was appointed Minister of Development Planning (1993-1994).
Since 1995 Dr. Al-Eryani held the position of Secretary General to the General People’s Congress Party (GPC). He became Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1997 until 1998. He was then elected Prime Minister for a second term and left office in 2001. He was one of the contributors to the Arab Human Development Report 2004 and currently serves as a political advisor to the Yemeni President.
In 2007 he was elected Secretary General of the Arab Association for Democracy, a nongovernmental organization with membership from 17 Arab countries.
