Saddam hussein what was he famous for

The verdict and sentencing were both appealed but subsequently affirmed by Iraq's Supreme Court of Appeals. On 30 December , Saddam was hanged. Saddam Hussein. Most Recent. Lesser known facts about The Battle of the Somme. A history of the poppy: Why we wear them as a symbol of remembrance and other facts.

Unlucky A witches' brew of facts about the European 'witch craze'. A discovery of witches: British witch trials in the 17th century. Castro vs Batista: the rebellion which changed the world Battles. Birth of the Vikings Vikings. You might be interested in. The Ba'ath regime was short-lived and without its protection Hussein went into hiding, though he was eventually tracked down and imprisoned for several years. He escaped from prison and continued his underground activities, playing a significant role in the revolution that brought the Ba'ath party in to lasting power.

As vice president, Hussein wielded considerable power in the government noted for political repression and human rights violations. He also led efforts to modernize the country and develop its weak economy and oil resources. Within a month, rivals in the Ba'ath party, accused of plotting a coup, were executed.

From ? He also attacked Kurdish rebels, at times with chemical weapons. In he invaded Kuwait but was defeated by a coalition of Arab and Western armies and forced to retreat. As a condition of ceased hostilities, Hussein was forced to accept inspections from U. More military strikes followed in , when he violated the peace terms of the Gulf War. Frequent failure to comply with U. Action was avoided until late when the U.

In , President Bush identified Iraq as part of an? Bush cited the existence of weapons of mass destruction, the thwarting of UN weapons inspections, and Saddam Hussein's despotism and human rights abuses as the justification for waging war. In September, Bush addressed the UN, challenging the organization to swiftly enforce its own resolutions against Iraq?

On Nov. Over the next several months, Saddam Hussein cooperated with the inspectors in a desultory manner. At the same time, Iraq remained under intense international scrutiny as well. In , when Iraqi forces violated a no-fly zone imposed by the United Nations, the United States launched a damaging missile attack on Baghdad. In , further violations of the no-fly zones and Iraq's alleged continuation of its weapons programs led to further missile strikes on Iraq, which would occur intermittently until February Members of the Bush administration had suspected that the Hussein government had a relationship with Osama bin Laden 's al Qaeda organization.

In his January State of the Union address, U. President George W. Bush named Iraq as part of his so-called "Axis of Evil," along with Iran and North Korea, and claimed that the country was developing weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorism. Later that year, UN inspections of suspected weapons sites in Iraq began, but little or no evidence that such programs existed was ultimately found. Despite this, on March 20, , under the pretense that Iraq did in fact have a covert weapons program and that it was planning attacks, a U.

Within weeks, the government and military had been toppled, and on April 9, , Baghdad fell. Saddam, however, managed to elude capture. In the months that followed, an intensive search for Saddam began.

While in hiding, Saddam released several audio recordings, in which he denounced Iraq's invaders and called for resistance. Finally, on December 13, , Saddam was found hiding in a small underground bunker near a farmhouse in ad-Dawr, near Tikrit. From there, he was moved to a U. During the subsequent trial, Saddam would prove to be a belligerent defendant, often boisterously challenging the court's authority and making bizarre statements. On November 5, , Saddam was found guilty and sentenced to death.

The sentencing was appealed, but was ultimately upheld by a court of appeals. He was buried in Al-Awja, his birthplace, on December 31, We strive for accuracy and fairness.

If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Nicolae Ceausescu was the leader of Communist Romania for more than two decades until his execution in Kim Il-sung served as premier and president of North Korea and ran the country for decades, spearheading the creation of an Orwellian regime.

Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades, instituting a reign of death and terror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism.

Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany.