Hussein, Saddam (1937–2005)

Personal History

Hussein was born on April 28, 1937, in the village of Al Auja, near the town of Tikrit, in northern Iraq. His father appears to have died before his birth, and he was raised by his mother, Subha, and stepfather, Ibrahim Hassan. The family was poor, and relations between Hussein and his stepfather seem to have been strained; Hussein did not attend school until he left home at the age of 10, when he went to live with his maternal uncle, Khayrallah Tulfah, in Baghdad. Khayrallah, a schoolteacher and former army officer, became a significant influence in his life.

A mediocre student, Hussein failed the entrance exam for the Baghdad military academy in the mid-1950s. He then worked at a series of odd jobs and became involved in the Baath Party. The Baathists were a socialist, pan-Arab group that dreamed of deposing the Western-supported monarchs who then ruled most Arab nations and uniting all Arab people in a single modern state. Hussein became a recruiter for the Baath youth wing in Iraq, leading street protests and organizing gangs.

In 1958, a coup led by General Abdul Karim Kassam overthrew the Iraqi monarchy. The Baath Party rapidly became dissatisfied with Kassam's leadership, however, and in 1959 Hussein was involved in attempting to assassinate Kassam. When the attempt failed, Hussein fled to Syria, where he joined other Baath exiles.

A vandalized Republican Guard base wall in the vicinity of Daly Airfield, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom depicts Saddam Hussein waving.

(Sgt. Mauricio Campino, USMC)

While Iraq was roiled with political turmoil, Hussein studied law in Cairo and rose within the party ranks. His cousin, General Ahmad Hassan al Bakr, was an important Baath leader, and his patronage brought Hussein a number of important positions. In 1968, Bakr led another coup, becoming president of Iraq, while Hussein became head of Iraq's security services.

Hussein then began his quest for power in earnest. He used his control of the Iraqi intelligence agencies to attach agents loyal to him to army units at every level, thus neutralizing the only segment of Iraqi society that could contend against the Baath Party. Eventually, all non-Baath leaders involved in the 1968 coup were forced to step down, and most were executed. At the same time, Hussein vastly increased membership in the Baath Party, and he made such membership a prerequisite for certain forms of employment.

Hussein then began accumulating ministerial positions. At first, he took on less glamorous jobs that other party leaders didn't want (the intelligence [Page 273]position being one such), but eventually he added the ministries of health and education to his portfolio, becoming Bakr's second-in-command. Hussein used his position to provide patronage to his family and to old acquaintances from Tikrit, thus creating a pool of loyalists. Hussein remained deferential to Bakr, who enjoyed all the privileges of office while being taxed with none of the work, and Bakr's faith in and reliance on Hussein increased. By the mid-1970s, Bakr was largely a figurehead; Hussein truly ran the country. In 1979, after Bakr made a belated attempt to regain power, Hussein forced him to step down and made himself president of Iraq.

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