The Commitment Protected: Aden Joins the Federation (16 January 1963–10 December 1963)

Abstract

The British Crown Colony of Aden joined the Federation of South Arabia as the twelfth State on the 18th of January 1963, whereupon Sir Charles Johnston became the High Commissioner for Aden and the Protectorate of South Arabia. The treaty¹ acknowledged that British sovereignty over Aden would not be affected by the Colony’s accession to the Federation, although Aden would become a full member-State,² and the British Government reserved the right to “exclude or withdraw at any time from the Federation any area or areas within Aden, if it considers this desirable for the purposes of its world-wide defence responsibilities”.³