Ali ibn Abd al-Karim

Ali ibn Abd al-Karim al-Abdali was the sultan of Lahej, the most important of the British-protected states around Aden, from 1952 to 1958. He sympathised with Arab nationalism and was linked to the South Arabian League, which opposed British plans for the region. In 1958 Britain deposed him and he went into exile, an episode that sharpened opposition to British rule in South Arabia.