Saddam Hussein ﺻﺪام ﺣﺴﻴﻦ :Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (/hʊˈseɪn/;[5] Arabic Marshal Ṣaddām Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Maǧīd al-Tikrītī;[a] 28 April ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﻤﺠﻴﺪ اﻟﺘﻜﺮﻳﺘﻲ 1937[b] – 30 December 2006) was President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 Saddam Hussein ﺻﺪام ﺣﺴﻴﻦ April 2003.[10] A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organization the Iraqi Ba'ath Party—which espoused Ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and socialism—Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup (later referred to as the 17 July Revolution) that brought the party to power inIraq . As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government, Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflicts between the government and the armed forces. In the early 1970s, Saddam nationalized oil and foreign banks leaving the system eventually insolvent mostly due to the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War, and UN sanctions.[11] Through the 1970s, Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatus of government as oil money helped Iraq's economy to grow at a rapid pace. Positions of power in the country were mostly filled with Sunni Arabs, a minority that made up only a fifth of the population.[12] Official portrait of Saddam Hussein in Saddam formally rose to power in 1979, although he had already been the de 1979 facto head of Iraq for several years. He suppressed several movements, particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements, which sought to overthrow the 5th President of Iraq [13] government or gain independence, and maintained power during the Iran– In office Iraq War and the Gulf War. Whereas some in the Arab world lauded Saddam 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003 for opposing the United States and attacking Israel,[14][15] he was widely Prime Minister See list condemned for the brutality of his dictatorship. The total number of Iraqis killed by the security services of Saddam's government in various purges and Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al- genocides is conservatively estimated to be 250,000.[16] Saddam's invasions Bakr of Iran and Kuwait also resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. He Succeeded by Jay Garner (Director acquired the title "Butcher of Baghdad".[3][17][18][19] of the Office for Reconstruction and In 2003, a coalition led by the United States invaded Iraq to depose Saddam, Humanitarian in which United States President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Assistance of Iraq) Tony Blair falsely[20] accused him of possessing weapons of mass destruction and having ties to al-Qaeda. Saddam's Ba'ath party was disbanded and Chairman of the Revolutionary elections were held. Following his capture on 13 December 2003, the trial of Command Council of Iraq Saddam took place under the Iraqi Interim Government. On 5 November In office 2006, Saddam was convicted by an Iraqi court of crimes against humanity 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003 related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'a, and sentenced to death by Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al- [21] hanging. He was executed on 30 December 2006. Bakr Succeeded by Position abolished 57th and 61st Prime Minister of Iraq Contents In office Early life 29 May 1994 – 9 April 2003 Rise to power President Himself Political program Preceded by Ahmad Husayn Succession 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge Khudayir as- Samarrai Paramilitary and police organizations Political and cultural image Succeeded by Mohammad Bahr al- Ulloum (as Acting Foreign affairs Iran–Iraq War President of the Al-Anfal Campaign Governing Council of Tensions with Kuwait Iraq) Gulf War In office Post-Gulf war period 16 July 1979 – 23 March 1991 International relations and sanctions on Iraq President Himself Invasion of Iraq in 2003 Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al- Incarceration and trial Bakr Capture and incarceration Trial Succeeded by Sa'dun Hammadi Execution Secretary General of the National Marriage and family relationships Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Philanthropic connection to the city of Detroit, Michigan Party List of government and party positions held In office See also January 1992 – 30 December 2006 Notes Preceded by Michel Aflaq References Succeeded by Position vacant Further reading Regional Secretary of the Regional External links Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch In office Early life 16 July 1979 – 30 December 2006 National Secretary Michel Aflaq (until Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al- 1989) Tikriti was born in the town of Al- Himself (from 1989) Awja, 13 km (8 mi) from the Iraqi Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al- town of Tikrit, to a family of shepherds Bakr from the al-Begat clan group, a sub- -Succeeded by Izzat Ibrahim ad (اﻟﺒﻮ ﻧﺎﺻﺮ) group of the Al-Bu Nasir tribe. His mother, Subha Tulfah al- Douri Mussallat, named her newborn son In office Saddam, which in Arabic means "One February 1964 – October 1966 who confronts". He is always referred Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al- to by this personal name, which may Bakr Saddam in his youth be followed by the patronymic and Succeeded by Ahmed Hassan al- other elements. He never knew his Bakr father, Hussein 'Abd al-Majid, who disappeared six months before Saddam Member of the Regional Command of was born. Shortly afterward, Saddam's 13-year-old brother died of cancer. The the Iraqi Regional Branch infant Saddam was sent to the family of his maternal uncle Khairallah Talfah until he was three.[22] In office February 1964 – 9 April 2003 His mother remarried, and Saddam gained three half-brothers through this Vice President of Iraq marriage. His stepfather, Ibrahim al-Hassan, treated Saddam harshly after his In office return. At about age 10, Saddam fled the family and returned to live in 17 July 1968 – July 1979 Baghdad with his uncle Kharaillah Talfah. Talfah, the father of Saddam's President Ahmed Hassan al- future wife, was a devoutSunni Muslim and a veteran of the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi Bakr War between Iraqi nationalists and the United Kingdom, which remained a Personal details major colonial power in the region.[23] Born Saddam Hussein Later in his life relatives from his native Tikrit became some of his closest Abd al-Majid al- advisors and supporters. Under the guidance of his uncle he attended a Tikriti nationalistic high school in Baghdad. After secondary school Saddam studied 28 April 1937 at an Iraqi law school for three years, dropping out in 1957 at the age of 20 to Al-Awja, Saladin join the revolutionary pan-Arab Ba'ath Party, of which his uncle was a Province, Iraq supporter. During this time, Saddam apparently supported himself as a Died 30 December 2006 secondary school teacher.[24] (aged 69) Revolutionary sentiment was characteristic of the era in Iraq and throughout Kadhimiya, the Middle East. In Iraq progressives and socialists assailed traditional Baghdad, Iraq political elites (colonial era bureaucrats and landowners, wealthy merchants Cause of death Execution by and tribal chiefs, and monarchists).[25] Moreover, the pan-Arab nationalism of hanging Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt profoundly influenced young Ba'athists like Nationality Iraqi Saddam. The rise of Nasser foreshadowed a wave of revolutions throughout Political party Arab Socialist the Middle East in the 1950s and 1960s, with the collapse of the monarchies Ba'ath Party (1957– of Iraq, Egypt, and Libya. Nasser inspired nationalists throughout the Middle 1966) East by fighting the British and the French during the Suez Crisis of 1956, Baghdad-based modernizing Egypt, and uniting theArab world politically.[26] Ba'ath Party In 1958, a year after Saddam had joined the Ba'ath party, army officers led by (1966–2006) General Abd al-Karim Qasim overthrew Faisal II of Iraq in the 14 July Other political National Revolution. affiliations Progressive Front (1974–2003)[1][2] Rise to power Spouse(s) Sajida Talfah Samira Shahbandar Of the 16 members of Qasim's cabinet, 12 were Ba'ath Party members; however, the party turned against Qasim due to his refusal to join Gamal Children Uday Hussein Abdel Nasser's United Arab Republic.[27] To strengthen his own position (deceased) within the government, Qasim created an alliance with the Iraqi Communist Qusay Hussein Party, which was opposed to any notion of pan-Arabism.[28] Later that year, (deceased) the Ba'ath Party leadership was planning to assassinate Qasim. Saddam was a Raghad Hussein leading member of the operation. At the time, the Ba'ath Party was more of an Rana Hussein ideological experiment than a strong anti-government fighting machine. The Hala Hussein majority of its members were either educated professionals or students, and Signature Saddam fit the bill.[29] The choice of Saddam was, according to historian Con Coughlin, "hardly surprising". The idea of assassinating Qasim may have been Military service Nasser's, and there is speculation that some of those who participated in the Nickname(s) "Butcher of operation received training in Damascus, which was then part of the UAR. Baghdad",[3] "Vic," However, "no evidence has ever been produced to implicate Nasser directly in (meaning "Very the plot."[30] The assassination attempt was partially conceived as revenge for Important communist massacres that killed hundreds of Iraqi nationalists in 1959 and Criminal")[4] which Qasim's government allowed to take place in the aftermath of the 1959 Mosul uprising.[31] Allegiance Iraq The assassins planned to ambush Qasim at Al-Rashid Street on 7 October Service/branch Iraqi Armed Forces 1959: one man was to kill those sitting at the back of the car, the rest killing Rank Marshal those in front.