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Saddam Hussain
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Famous As |
Dictator and
President of Iraq |
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Born On |
28 April
1937 |
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Born In |
Al-Awja,
Tikrit, Iraq |
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Died On |
30 December
2006 |
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Nationality |
Iraq |
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Saddam Hussein was the 5th President of Iraq and a member of the
Revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which held a long term power in the
country. As President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein accelerated the
country's ride to a fast growing economy and espoused the policies
of secular leadership and modernization. Saddam maintained power
while controlling the government and repressing any movement he
considered intimidating to the country or his empire. |
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Venerated as a hero for his aggressive stand
against foreign intrusion in Iraq, Saddam
Hussein was praised for his support to
Palestinians, though his image remained
suspicious in the view of Western countries
particularly the United States. The American
government held him responsible for the Gulf War
and intensifying nuclear threat in the world and
chose a more viable option to war with Iraq
rather than negotiate with its adamant
president. Invasion of Iraq in 2003, led to the
arrest of Saddam Hussein and downfall of his
government. He was held in custody by the U.S.
forces for his alleged crimes against humanity
and following a long trail, was .hung
on 30 December 2006 |
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Early Life:
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid
al-Tikriti was born on 28 April 1937 in Al-Awja near the Iraqi town
Tikriti in a tribal shepherd’s family. While he never saw his father
Abid al- Majid; whose whereabouts had been
unknown long before his birth, his mother Subha Tulfa al- mussallat remarried to Ibrahim al-Hassan
after Saddam’s elder brother died of cancer. Saddam was sent to
Baghdad, to the family of his maternal uncle Khirallah Talfah, who
was a militant Iraqi nationalist and a firm supporter of the
Revolutionary pan-Arab Ba’ath Party. Saddam completed his secondary
education from a nationalistic school in Baghdad and
enrolled into an Iraqi law school. He studied law for three years
before dropping out in 1957, and joined the revolutionary pan-Arab
Ba’ath Party. |
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Early Political
Activities:
In year 1958, Saddam
became involved in the United States backed assassination attempt of
General Quassim, who, with the help of his army officers, had
overthrown the government to form his own. Though the assassination
attempt failed, the Ba’ath Party successfully overthrew Quassim in
1963 and Abdul Salam Arif was declared the President. After the
failed assassination attempt Saddam fled to Cairo but was arrested
in 1964 upon returning to Iraq. He escaped prison in 1967 and just
after one year in 1968, Abdul Salam Arif was removed from the power,
following which Saddam became the deputy of the new
President Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr and deputy of the
RevolutionaryCommand Council. |
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Economic development in
Iraq:
As the deputy
chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, Saddam adopted a
progressive and modern approach to address the county’s domestic
issues. After taking power in 1968, unification of the country,
which was divided on the basis of social, ethnic, religious and
cultural conflicts, became his prime goal. Having seen the tension
within the first Ba’athist government, Saddam ensured a stable power
structure by employing strong measures to prevent rebellion coups
and insurgency with in the party. Under his leadership Iraq saw the
fastest growth of economy and infrastructure in the late 1960’s,
which was a result of the measures taken by Saddam for welfare and
development of the state. Saddam’s government promoted women
education and campaigned for the compulsory free education in Iraq,
which was an added support to the building of a strong nation. The
government widely progressed in building roads, promoting mining and
developing the infrastructure of Iraq. Its support to farmers,
soldiers and people living in the rural areas contributed to the
production and thus to
an increased revenue. In the light of the revolutionary growth of
Iraq Saddam was honored with an award from the Unites Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). |
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Presidency of
Iraq: By 1976, Saddam had
been promoted to the position of general in the Iraqi armed forces
and was formally elected to the Presidency on 16 July 1979. His
Presidency was marked by social and economical reforms that led to
freedom and employment of women in Iraq. Furthermore, contrary to
the conservative Islamic Countries, his western-style legal system
made Iraq the only country in the gulf region not ruled by the
‘Sharia’ (The traditional Islamic Law). While adopting a diplomatic
policy in foreign affairs, Initially Iraq maintained cordial
relations with its neighboring countries and signed a pact with the
Soviet Union in 1972. Iraq launched its first nuclear reactor in
1980 with French assistance, who had become their new ally in trade
and politics. Though its relations with Iran had become worse after
Iraqi bombing on Iran, Saddam successfully persuaded it to sign the
1975 treaty. Saddam’s presidency
marked its presence with a series of wars with its neighboring Gulf
countries, namely Kuwait and Iran, which put him against the western
countries forcing them to end their coalition with Iraq. Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait in 1990 proved to be a disastrous step for its
President Saddam Hussein, who was defeated by an alliance of
American and British troops forcing him to evacuate the country in
1991. |
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Invasion of
Iraq:
After The Gulf War,
Saddam’s government continued to violate the terms of cease-fire by
developing nuclear weapons and storing prohibited material and thus,
worsened the already tensed relations between Iraq and the United
States putting him as a threat to the international peace and
stability. The terrorist attack on America in September 2001 added
fuel to the fire making America determined to repress the widespread
terrorist activities mushrooming in the Middle East. The U. S.
President Bush, who had indicted Iraqi government for developing
mass destruction nuclear weapon, sent American’s troops in Iraq
after all his prior warnings failed to elicit any positive response
from Saddam Hussein. In less than a month of Iraqi invasion on 20
March 2003, an incompetent Iraqi force surrendered and Baghdad was
captured by U.S. forces on 9 April, while Saddam succeeded to
escape. His whereabouts could not be identified until 14 December
2003, when U.S. authority announced in a sensational report that he
had been captured from a farmhouse in Ad-Dawr near Tikrit. |
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Trial and
Execution:
On 30 June 2004,
Saddam Hussein, along with other Baathist Party leaders, was handed
over to the Interim Iraqi government to proceed with the trial for
his alleged crimes against humanity. Other charges against him
include several killings (presumably to attain power), crimes
against Shiite population in Iraq, torture of women and children and
other similar offences. The trial went on for more than 2 years
until November 5, 2006, when Saddam Hussein was declared guilty and
was sentenced to death by hanging. Despite his wish to be shot,
Saddam was hung on 30 December 2006, at the “Camp Justice”, an Iraqi
army base in Kadhimiya. An official video tape showing his
execution, in which Saddam Hussein is being taunted by the
captors, caused a number of controversies ; giving a clue to an
incorrect and undignified death of the former President. He was
buried at Al-Ajwa, his birthplace at Tikrit. Soon after his death,
his last letter addressed to his nation was released by his lawyer.
The letter drafted by Saddam himself, called on its people to
maintain peace and stability in the country. The letter in which he
maintains himself as a faithful and honest to his countrymen and
nation, an overwhelmed Saddam expressed his wish to see his nation
grow and move ahead, while calling them on to forgive the unjust
nations who had denied him justice and a fair trial. |
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Marriages and
Family:
Saddam had two
official marriages and five children including three daughters. His
first wife Sajida Talfah was the daughter of his Uncle Khaitallah
Talfah, whom he married in 1963 in Egypt, during his exile. He had
five children from this marriage; two sons Uday Hussein and Qusay
Hussein, and three daughters Raghad Hussein, Rana Hussein and Hala
Hussein. The both of his sons were killed in a gun battle with the
U.S. force in Mosul along with Qasay’s oldest son Mustapha, while
his daughters- along with their children- took shelter in Jordan
after the war Saddam married his second wife Samira Shahbandar in
1993 and is believed to have a child Ali from this marriage, though
it is not confirmed by the family members of Hussein. Samira fled to
Beirut, Lebanon after the war and her current whereabouts are
unknown. |
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Time Line
1937-
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was born on 28 April 1937.
1958-
Saddam became involved in the failed assassination attempt of
General Quassim.
1963-
Ba’ath Party successfully overthrew Quassim in 1963.
1963-
He married his first wife Sajida Talfah in 1963 in Egypt.
1964-
Saddam fled to Cairo but was arrested in 1964 for his role in the
assassination attempt.
1967-
He escaped prison in 1967.
1968-
Abdul Salam Arif was removed from the power.
1968-
Saddam became the deputy of the new President Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr
and deputy of the Revolutionary Command Council.
1976-
Saddam was promoted to the position of general in the Iraqi armed
force.
1972-
He signed a pact with the Soviet Union in 1972.
1975-
Saddam signed the 1975 treaty with Iran.
1789-
He became the President of Iraq on 16 July 1979.
1990-
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait took place in 1990.
1991-
Iraqi troops evacuated Kuwait in 1991.
1993-
Saddam married his second wife Samira Shahbandar in 1993.
2003-
Iraq was invaded by the U. S. force on 20 March 2003.
2003-
U.S. authority captured Saddam Hussein from a farmhouse in Ad-Dawr
near Tikrit.
2004-
Saddam Hussein was handed over to the Interim Iraqi government on
30 June.
2006-
Saddam Hussein was declared guilty on November 5.
2006-
Saddam was hung on 30 December 2006.
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