THE body of a well-known Yemeni author and politician has been found near his home in Bromley, three days after he had gone missing.

Ahmed Al-Shami , 81, of Park Farm Road, played a leading role in his country’s reconciliation after a bitter civil war between republicans and royalists, in the 1960s.

He became one of four members of Yemen’s Republican Council after the war and later Ambassador to Paris.

Mr Al-Shami died of a suspected heart attack. His body was found in Plaistow Lane, Bromley, last Friday evening.

He was last seen alive by his son, Ibrahim , last Tuesday evening. When he returned to check on his father the following morning, he had gone, possibly to get help.

Following a post-mortem examination on Monday at the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough, the body was due to be flown to Yemen for a state funeral in the capital Sanaa, yesterday morning.

Mohammed Al-Makhadi , a retired diplomat and friend of Mr Al-Shami for 40 years, said that he was known throughout the Arab world.

“His greatest achievement was his participation in the reconciliation between the two sides after the civil war.”

Mr Al-Makhadi, who lives in Harrow, added: “I think he influenced all the younger generation of writers, politicians and teachers. He left a large legacy of books about the Arab world and Yemen in particular.”

Perhaps his best-known work is The Wind Of Change, two books covering the civil war.

Mr Al-Shami began his political career as a diplomat, with a posting in London in the early 1960s. He bought his home in Bromley about a decade later.

A spokesman for the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in London said: “He was regarded as a man of letters, a poet and a literary critic. He was highly-regarded by his own peers.”

Mr Al-Shami, who was a widower, leaves three children, Ibrahim, Faisal and Amatallah , and several grandchildren.

His post-mortem examination concluded that he died of natural causes.