Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti[c] (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003. He also served as prime minister of Iraq from 1979 to 1991 and later from 1994 to 2003. He was 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 Arab socialism.
"Saddam" redirects here. For other uses, see Saddam (disambiguation).
Saddam Hussein
- Himself (1979–1991)
- Sa'dun Hammadi (1991)
- Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi (1991–1993)
- Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai (1993–1994)
- Himself (1994–2003)
- Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf (1974–2003)
- Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (1979–2003)
- Taha Yassin Ramadan (1991–2003)
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Office abolished
Himself
Himself
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
- Michel Aflaq (until 1989)
- Himself (from 1989)
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
30 December 2006
Camp Justice, Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Iraq
- Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (1957–1966)
- Iraq-based Ba'ath Party (1966–2006)
- National Progressive Front
(1974–2003)[2][3]
Saddam was born in the village of Al-Awja, near Tikrit in northern Iraq, to a peasant Sunni Arab family.[8] He joined the Ba'ath Party in 1957, and later in 1966 the Iraqi and Baghdad-based Ba'ath parties. He played a key role in the 17 July Revolution and was appointed vice president of Iraq by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. During his time as vice president, Saddam nationalised the Iraq Petroleum Company, diversifying the Iraqi economy. He presided over the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War (1974–1975). Following al-Bakr's resignation in 1979, Saddam formally took power, although he had already been the de facto head of Iraq for several years. Positions of power in the country were mostly filled with Sunni Arabs, a minority that made up about a fifth of the population.[9]
Upon taking office, Saddam instituted the Ba'ath Party Purge. Saddam ordered the 1980 invasion of Iran in a purported effort to capture Iran's Arab-majority Khuzistan province and thwart Iranian attempts to export their own 1979 revolution. The Iran–Iraq War ended after nearly eight years in a ceasefire after a gruelling stalemate that cost somewhere around a million lives and economic losses of $561 billion in Iraq. At the end of the war, he carried out the brutal Anfal campaign against Kurds, recognized by Human Rights Watch as an act of genocide. Later, Saddam accused its ally Kuwait of slant-drilling the oil reserves in Iraq and occupied Kuwait, initiating the Gulf War (1990–1991). Iraq was defeated by a multinational coalition led by the United States. The United Nations subsequently placed sanctions against Iraq. Saddam suppressed the 1991 Iraqi uprisings of the Kurds and Shia Muslims, which sought to gain independence or overthrow the government. Saddam adopted an anti-American stance and established the Faith Campaign, pursuing an Islamist agenda in Iraq. Saddam's rule was marked by numerous human rights abuses, including an estimated 250,000 arbitrary deaths and disappearances.
In 2003, the United States and its coalition of allies invaded Iraq, falsely accusing Saddam of developing weapons of mass destruction and of having ties with al-Qaeda. The Ba'ath Party was banned and Saddam went into hiding. After his capture on 13 December 2003, his trial took place under the Iraqi Interim Government. On 5 November 2006, Saddam was convicted by the Iraqi High Tribunal of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'a and sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed on 30 December 2006.
Saddam has been accused of running a repressive authoritarian government, which several analysts have described as totalitarian, although the applicability of that label has been contested.
On 30 June 2004, Saddam Hussein, held in custody by US forces at the US base "Camp Cropper", along with 11 other senior Ba'athist leaders, was handed over to the interim Iraqi government to stand trial for crimes against humanity and other offences.
A few weeks later, he was charged by the Iraqi Special Tribunal with crimes committed against residents of Dujail in 1982, following a failed assassination attempt against him. Specific charges included the murder of 148 people, torture of women and children and the illegal arrest of 399 others.[176][177]
Among the many challenges of the trial were:
On 5 November 2006, Saddam was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam's half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court in 1982, were convicted of similar charges. The verdict and sentencing were both appealed, but subsequently affirmed by Iraq's Supreme Court of Appeals.[179]
In August 1995, Raghad and her husband, Hussein Kamel al-Majid, and Rana and her husband, Saddam Kamel al-Majid, defected to Jordan, taking their children with them. They returned to Iraq when they received assurances that Saddam would pardon them. Within three days of their return in February 1996, both of the Kamel brothers were attacked and killed in a gunfight with other clan members who considered them traitors.
In August 2003, Saddam's daughters Raghad and Rana received sanctuary in Amman, Jordan. That month, they spoke with CNN and the Arab satellite station Al-Arabiya in Amman. When asked about her father, Raghad told CNN, "He was a very good father, loving, has a big heart." Asked if she wanted to give a message to her father, she said: "I love you and I miss you." Her sister Rana also remarked, "He had so many feelings and he was very tender with all of us."[198]
Philanthropy
In 1979, Jacob Yasso of Sacred Heart Chaldean Church in Detroit, Michigan congratulated Saddam Hussein on his presidency. In return, Yasso said that Saddam Hussein donated US$250,000 to his church, which is made up of at least 1,200 families of Middle Eastern descent. In 1980, Detroit Mayor Coleman Young allowed Yasso to present the key to the city of Detroit to Saddam Hussein. At the time, Saddam then asked Yasso, "I heard there was a debt on your church. How much is it?" After the inquiry, Saddam then donated another $200,000 to Chaldean Sacred Heart Church. Yasso said that Saddam made donations to Chaldean churches all over the world, and even went on record as saying "He's very kind to Christians."[199]
Honors and awards
In 1991, the Iraqi government awarded Saddam the Rafidain medal, also known as Order of the Two Rivers, the country's highest honor, as a recognition of his "historic role" and "noble services to Iraq".[200][201] This announcement was made following a Cabinet meeting, and Information Minister Hamid Youssef Hummadi stated that the decision was unanimous.[200][201] The award was bestowed on Saddam Hussein, during his 54th birthday, in appreciation of his exceptional contributions and significant impact on Iraq.[200]
He was honored by titles such as "Field Marshal" and "Comrade". Saddam Hussein is one of the recipients of the Key to the City.[199][202] In 1980, Saddam Hussein was awarded a key to the city of Detroit after he donated almost half a million dollars to a church in the city of Detroit.[203] The Ba'ath government led by Saddam Hussein, successfully turned Iraq into a leading hub for healthcare and education.[204] This improved quality of life in Iraq.[205] For improving quality of life of Iraqis, Saddam was honored by an award from UNESCO.[206]
Saddam received a number of medals, which were displayed at a museum in Johannesburg, South Africa.[207] He received or Order of Merit (Wisam al-Jadara), which is rare and was awarded to only a few Iraqi rulers.[208] Order of the Mother of Battles was awarded to Saddam Hussein for his role in the 1991 Gulf War against Kuwait and the United States.[209] Saddam received medals for the 1948–'49 Palestinian War, crushing the Kurdish rebellion, the 1963 and 1968 revolutions, cooperation with Syria, peace in 1970, and the 1973 war with Israel.[210]