The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, commonly referred to as South Yemen, gained independence as the People's Republic of South Yemen on 30 November 1967. The President of the Republic served as head of state, appointing a Prime Minister to serve as head of government.
On 22 June 1969, the left wing of National Front (NF) took power following the Corrective Move, reorganizing the government. The Chairman of the Presidential Council became the head of state. This was followed closely in 1970 by the renaming of the country to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. Another reorganization in 1978, following the establishment of the Yemeni Socialist Party in October, changed the title of the head of state to Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council. This lasted until unification with the Yemen Arab Republic on 22 May 1990, when the then-Chairman became the Prime Minister of the united Yemen.
President of the People's Republic of South Yemen
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan=2|
! rowspan=2| Portrait
! rowspan=2| Name<br />
! colspan=3| Term of office
! rowspan=2| Party
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! style="background:; color:black;"| 1
|107x107px
| rowspan="1" |Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi
| rowspan="1" |30 November 1967
|}
Chairman of the Presidential Council
The Presidential Council of Democratic Yemen was established as part of the reforms made during the "Corrective Move", in which Qahtan al-Shaabi got overthrown by the left wing of the National Front (NF). Its role was to manage internal divisions within the National Front (NF), which evolved into the Yemeni Socialist Party in 1978, and maintain regional balance.
The council consisted of five members: Abdul Fattah Ismail of the North, Mohammed Ali Haytham of Abyan, Mohammed Saleh al-Awlaqi of Shabwa, Ali Antar of Dhale and Salim Rubaya Ali (Salmin) of Abyan who served as president. Over the next two years, personnel changes occurred, with Ali Nasir Muhammad replacing al-Awlaqi. The council's membership was based primarily on regional influence within the National Front, rather than military power, as in the Yemen Arab Republic up north.
| rowspan=1 | 23 June 1969
| rowspan=1 | 26 June 1978
|
| rowspan=1 | National Front<br>
| rowspan=1 | 26 June 1978
| rowspan=1 | 21 December 1978
| rowspan=2|
| rowspan=1 | National Front<br>
|}
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council
After Salmeen's assassination in 1978, Ismail briefly succeeded him, only to be replaced by Ali Nasser Mohammed after two years, and on 1986 a civil war eventually led to Ali Nasser's own removal.
| rowspan=1 | 21 April 1980
| rowspan=1 | 24 January 1986
|
| rowspan=1 | Yemeni Socialist Party<br>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
|Portrait
|Name
|Took Office
|Left Office
|Leading Party
|-
| 80px
|Ali Salem al-Beidh
|21 May 1994
|7 July 1994
|Yemeni Socialist Party
|}