Saddam Hussein

Hussein, Saddam (1937– ), Arab nationalist leader, president and dictator of Iraq from 1979. As chair of the Revolutionary Command Council of the Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party, a pan-Arab organization that controls all facets of Iraqi society, he established a regime marked by widespread repression, imprisonment, and fear. At the same time, the government made significant progress in industrialization. The Ba'ath took power in Iraq in 1963. Hussein, though formally second in command, was the de facto ruler as early as 1969. In 1980 he launched an attack on Iran that led to the 8-year-long Iran-Iraq war. On Aug. 2, 1990 the Iraq army invaded Kuwait. The pretext for the invasions was Iraq's territorial claim to Kuwait. Shortly after the invasion, the United States and a combined allied military force established a military presence in Saudi Arabia. After 6 months of United Nations' diplomatic efforts at peace failed, the allied forces declared war on Iraq. On Jan. 16, 1991 hostilities commenced and a ceasefire was announced on Feb. 21, 1991. Following the Gulf War, a trade boycot was inflicted upon Iraq. As a result, resistance in Iraq seems to grow. In 1995 two of Husseins sons in law fled to Jordan, they returned in 1996 and were killed within a few days. The UN closely watches the Iraqi weapons industry.

See also: Iraq; Persian Gulf War.