Saddam Hussein

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Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti (nato il 28 Aprile 1937), presidente dell'Iraq dal1979.

Nato nel villaggio di Al-Auja, nel distretto di Tikrit dell'Iraq, da una famiglia di pastori di pecore. A dieci anni, Hussein si trasferi' a Baghdad per vivere con lo zio, Khayrallah Tulfah.

Si iscrisse al Partito Ba'ath e nel1956, prese parte al fallito tentativo di colpo di stato contro Re Faisal II. Nel 1958, un grupppo non-Baathista condotto dal Generale Abdul Karim Qassim rimosse il re. Nel 1959, dopo un tentativo fallito di assassinare il primo ministro Qassim, Hussein scappo' in Egitto attraverso la Syria e fu condannato a morte in absentia.

Ha ricevuto parte della sua educazione scolastica superiore alla facoltà di legge dell'Università del Cairo.

Traduzione completa sin qui

On his return to Iraq following the 14th of Ramadhan revolution (February 8, 1963) he was imprisoned in 1964 following a change in power, but escaped from jail in 1967. In 1968 he helped lead the successful and non-violent Ba'athist coup. He also gained a degree in law from the University of Baghdad in 1968. He was Vice-Chairman of the Revolution Command Council from 1968 and was appointed a General in the Iraqi armed forces in 1973. In 1979 the President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr announced his retirement (aged 42) and Saddam Hussein gained the posts of Chairman and President.

Under his rule, he used the oil revenues to make the country a major regional military power and involved the country in the bloody Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988) and the disastrous invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War (1990 - 1991). He has survived numerous attempted coups and assassinations.

On June 1, 1972, he led the process of nationalizing Western oil companies which had had a monopoly on Iraq's oil. Saddam actively fostered the modernization of the Iraqi economy, urging the construction of various developed industries and following their administration and execution. He also supervised the modernization of the Iraqi countryside, the mechanization of agriculture and the distribution of land to farmers. He affected a comprehensive revolution in energy industries as well as in public services such as transport and education. He also initiated and led the National Campaign for the Eradication of Illiteracy and the implementation of Compulsory Free Education in Iraq.

A United Nations trade embargo has been in place continuously since the Gulf War. In 1996 the Iraqi parliament accepted a UN Security Council plan authorizing Iraq to sell limited amounts of oil in order to meet its urgent humanitarian needs.

According to official reports, Saddam appears to enjoy extremely widespread popularity within Iraq. A 2002 referendum, asking whether he should continue to lead Iraq, claimed 100% of voters thought he should, and that the turnout was 100%, with international media releasing pictures of Iraqi women voting in their own blood. However, he was the only candidate on the ballot and voting was mandatory.

He is married to Sajida Talfah and has two sons (Udai Saddam Hussein and Qusai Hussein) and three daughters.