Identify the person
He became Minister of Agriculture in 1953, the Minister of Defense and Aviation in 1962 and Minister of Communications in 1988.His son was Ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005.As the Minister of Defense, a large portion of his country's $34 billion defense budget is spent on maintaining military equipment from the 1970s. He has allegedly become extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks by Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts. He was involved in many scandals, including the Al-Yamamah deal. However, his influence was still unhindered until recently when his health deteriorated. During his tenure, his country has become the largest importer of US arms. He was a strong proponent U.S partnership.He was an expert on the Yemen civil war and Soviet involvement in the Horn of Africa in 1985.He had been rumored to have had colon cancer in 2003. A foreign correspondent was forced to leave the country after reporting his health problem.He spent several months in New York City at New York Presbyterian Hospital and underwent surgery. He then convalesced at Agadir, Morocco, and remained abroad most of the time, undergoing medical treatments
He became Minister of Agriculture in 1953, the Minister of Defense and Aviation in 1962 and Minister of Communications in 1988.His son was Ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005.As the Minister of Defense, a large portion of his country's $34 billion defense budget is spent on maintaining military equipment from the 1970s. He has allegedly become extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks by Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts. He was involved in many scandals, including the Al-Yamamah deal. However, his influence was still unhindered until recently when his health deteriorated. During his tenure, his country has become the largest importer of US arms. He was a strong proponent U.S partnership.He was an expert on the Yemen civil war and Soviet involvement in the Horn of Africa in 1985.He had been rumored to have had colon cancer in 2003. A foreign correspondent was forced to leave the country after reporting his health problem.He spent several months in New York City at New York Presbyterian Hospital and underwent surgery. He then convalesced at Agadir, Morocco, and remained abroad most of the time, undergoing medical treatments
