RIYADH — Former Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi died on Thursday in Riyadh at the age of 81, according to Yemeni and Arab media reports.

Hadi had been living in the Saudi capital since the Iran-aligned Houthi movement seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa and forced the internationally recognised government into exile during the country’s prolonged conflict.

He served as Yemen’s president from 2012 until 2022, a period marked by political unrest, civil war and regional intervention. In April 2022, Hadi announced the transfer of his presidential powers to the Presidential Leadership Council in a move aimed at unifying anti-Houthi factions and reviving peace efforts in the war-torn country.

Hadi assumed the presidency in 2012 following the resignation of longtime Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh amid the Arab Spring uprising that swept across the region.

Before becoming president, Hadi served as Yemen’s vice president from 1994 to 2012 and was considered a key political figure during one of the country’s most turbulent periods.