Yemen's Hadi, leader who failed to bring stability

President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, 69, who tendered his resignation Thursday after his palace compound was seized and his residence attacked by Huthi Shiite militiamen, has ruled Yemen for three turbulent years.
In a letter of resignation to parliament, Hadi, whose US-backed government also stepped down on Thursday, said Yemen was in "total deadlock".
He blamed himself and other politicians in Yemen for failing "to steer the country into calm waters" but parliament rejected his resignation and called for an extraordinary session on Friday.
The former career soldier took office in 2012 under a UN- and Gulf-backed peace plan, in a country awash with weapons and where powerful tribes hold sway, emerging as a consensus figure.
But unlike his predecessor, veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh who ruled over Yemen for 33 years, the stout and balding Hadi had no popular or tribal base to fall back on.
Since taking over from Saleh, Hadi had faced one challenge after the other, including from southern secessionists and Al-Qaeda.
When Saleh stepped down after an almost year-long and often bloody uprising, Hadi pledged to "preserve the country's unity, independence and territorial integrity".
- From army to politics -
Instability in the strife-torn country came to a head in September when the Huthis advanced from their power base in the northern remote Saada region to Sanaa.
The Huthis' unopposed takeover of the capital was followed by advances into areas south of Sanaa, where the Shiite militiamen have met deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda loyalists and Sunni tribes.
Hadi's government has been a key ally of the United States, allowing Washington to carry out repeated drone attacks on Al-Qaeda militants in its territory.
A major general from restive southern Yemen, Hadi had been vice president since 1994 and secretary general of the ruling General People's Congress party.
But he never played a top role in politics before taking over Saleh's powers in June 2011, when the latter was wounded in an attack on his presidential compound.
Hadi was a crucial player in convincing Saleh to sign the UN-backed transition plan in late 2011.
Born on May 1, 1945, Hadi graduated from a military academy in formerly independent South Yemen and also received military training in Britain and Egypt.
A unified Yemen was proclaimed on May 22, 1990, four years after Hadi had joined the northern camp.
The southerners tried to break away in May 1994, sparking a bloody civil war during which Hadi was appointed defence minister.
He has two daughters and three sons, and has written several books, including one on the military defence of mountain areas.
"The way he handled the negotiations for the settlement plan, and above all the way in which he convinced Saleh to go along with it, proves that he is very savvy," a Western diplomat had said of Hadi.
Unlike Saleh and in a country where powerful tribes hold sway, Hadi has "no tribal, familial, regional, or partisan base and has no real experience in power," said the diplomat.