April 28, 1937 - Saddam Hussein
His twenty-four years as Iraq's head of state encompassed the Iran-Iraq War, the use of chemical weapons against Kurdish civilians at Halabja, the invasion of Kuwait, and the sustained repression of political opponents through state security apparatus. The scale of violence carried out under his authority — both in warfare and internal governance — places him among the most consequential leaders of the late twentieth century Middle East. He maintained power through a combination of patronage, ideological control, and systematic brutality that outlasted multiple wars and international sanctions.
From Wikipedia
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until his overthrow in 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. The Iraqi Ba'ath Party, which initially espoused a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, quickly diverged into a right-wing ideology known as Saddamism.
Saddam was born in the village of Al-Awja, near Tikrit in northern Iraq, to a peasant Sunni Arab family. He joined the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in 1957, and the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organization, the Iraqi Ba'ath Party. He played a key role in the 17 July Revolution and was appointed vice president by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. During his time as vice president, Saddam nationalised the Iraq Petroleum Company, diversifying the Iraqi economy.
- Last updated on .