1937 April 28: Born in Auja, near the city of Tikrit, 200 km north of Baghdad, as the son of a landless peasant who died before Saddam’s birth.1956: Joined the Iraqi branch of the Arab Ba’th Socialist Party.1958: Sentenced to prison for political activities against the regime, he spends 6 months in prison.1959: Participates in the coup attempt against prime minister Abdul Karim Qassim, through which he receives a gunshot wound in his leg from the minister’s bodyguards.— Escapes to Syria, and then to Egypt.1960 February 25: Is sentenced to death in absentia.1962: Finishes his secondary studies in Egypt.1963 February 8: Returns to Iraq following the Ramadan revolution.— Joins the leadership of the Ba’th Party.1964 October 14: Is arrested in a campaign against Ba’th Party members.1966: While still in prison, Saddam is elected Deputy Secretary General of the Ba’th Party.1967: Escapes from prison.1968: Active in the two Ba’thist coups, July 17 and 30. Saddam assumes responsibility for internal security.— Graduates from the College of Law.1969 November 9: Is formally elected Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, in which he forms an alliance with his second cousin, Ahmad Hassan Bakr, the council’s chairman.1972 June 1: Leads the process of nationalizing the oil resources in Iraq, which had been in control by Western companies.1975: Saddam signs the Algiers Accord with Iran (which among other issues, regulated the border question), an act indicating that his position was stronger than his ally Bakr.1979 June: Saddam assumes the position of president, after he discovers that Bakr began negotiations on unity between Syria and Iraq. Bakr is stripped of all positions, and put under house arrest.1980 September 17: Saddam terminates the border agreement of 1975 with Iran, hence provoking a war.— September 22: War starts against Iran, due to disputes over territories occupied by Iran in 1973.1988: With the help of US navy in the Persian Gulf, Iraq is able to regain territory lost to Iran between 1984 and 86.— July: War against Iran ends, without changes in the borders.1990 August 2: War against Kuwait resulting in a rapid occupation. This leads to strong international condemnation, and threats of intervention from US-lead forces.1991 January 17: Intervention by the joint international forces in which more than 30 countries participate. This leads to a quick defeat for Iraq. After the war, international actions are effected towards the Kurdish population in the north and the Shi’is in the south. But despite predictions from international commentators, Saddam is not removed by his Iraqi opponents, nor does his political power seem to diminish.1990’s: UN imposes sanctions on Iraq, in order to force the country to reduce its military defenses, based on the agreement reached in the peace agreement after the war of 1991. The sanctions soon result in a heavy decline in the Iraqi economy, reduction in food supplies, and poor public health services, but not a weaker position for Saddam.1994: New military activities near Kuwait, but international pressure makes Saddam end this.1998: Saddam removes all personnel stationed in Iraq by the UN to control the military and the military industry.Late 1990’s: After many years of international sanctions against Saddam and Iraq, world opinion begins to change. Although initially sentiments opposed Iraq as a nation, more and more commentators begin pointing to the fact that Iraq is not deescalating its military buildup, and that the sanctions only lead to hardship for the population. Saddam, himself, is stronger than ever. Hence, the sanctions are more and more perceived as a failure.2002 October 15: Iraq stages a mock democratic presidential election, in which there are no other candidates than Saddam Hussein, and all ballots are shown to election officials before being cast and counted by regime officials. The election shows 100% of all votes for Saddam, and a 100% turn-out. The election is ridiculed by most Western journalists, but is commentated by the BBC as if it was genuine.2003 March: US President George W. Bush demands that Saddam leave Iraq with his sons. Saddam does respond, and the USA attacks Iraq and starts bombing Baghdad, with the aim of staking out Saddam and his regime. (See article on US/British-Iraq War.)Early April: Saddam Hussein loses power over his bureaucracy and the Special Republican Guard, hence, effectively, loses power over Iraq. He takes refuge north of Baghdad, where he in the following months gives direction to loyal opposition forces, fighting the invasion forces, and issuing voice messages which are aired by TV-stations all around the world.— July 22: Saddam’s only two sons, Uday and Qusay, are killed by US forces.— December 13: Saddam Hussein is captured in an underground shelter 15 km south of Tikrit by US forces. He surrenders without a struggle.2004 July 1: Saddam Hussein appears in front of an Iraqi court, facing charges of crimes against the people of Iraq and for the war against Kuwait in 1990.2006 November 5: Saddam Hussein is convicted for his accused crimes, sentenced to death by hanging. He appeals, and around Iraq different reactions to the sentence are displayed. Many Shi’i districts see celebrations, while many Sunni districts see angry protests.Note: These facts were found from the encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf.
BIOGRAPHY Of Saddam Hussein
