Al-Sallal was sent to the only orphanage in Sanaa, known as the Orphan School, which later became famous for raising many of Yemen's greatest patriots and some of the most influential politicians of that era.

[3] Though not a member of the social elite in Yemen, Al-Sallal was widely respected by the military community as a competent and brazen officer despite being the son of a butcher, a profession looked down upon prior to the revolution.

[citation needed] Al-Sallal led the revolutionary forces that deposed King Muhammad al-Badr and brought the Kingdom of Yemen to an end.

He was later ousted in a bloodless coup led by Abdul Rahman Al-Iryani and exiled to Egypt, where he remained until President Ali Abdullah Saleh invited him to return in the early 1980s.

He held both titles from the formation of the republic until 26 April 1963, when he appointed Abdul Latif Dayfallah, as well as briefly in 1965 and from 18 September 1966 until the end of his presidency.