The Rise of Saddam Hussein

Alexa PJamie M

Joanna GCaroline KLauren H

The Rise of Saddam Hussein

Background Information:

Saddam was born on April 28,1937. He was born into a poor family, and had to steal so his

family could eat (eggs and chicken). Attended College in Baghdad. He joined the Baath Party and in 1956 he played a role

in an abortive coup attempt. By the age of 19, he was politically active, supporting

Arab Unity.

Rise to Power:

At the age of 22, he attempted to kill the Prime Minister Abdel-Karim Qassem.

He was shot in the leg during the attempt, and fled to Syria and Egypt.

In Egypt, he attended law school. He married his cousin In 1963, the Baath lost power, and Hussein went

into hiding, but was captured and thrown in prison.

In 1966, he escaped form prison, and rejoined the party.

After Hussein rejoined the party, he became vice chairman of the revolutionary command council.

Through the years, he became vice president and deputy secretary general of the Baath party’s regional command.

As the vice chairman, he oversaw nationalization of the oil industry, and advocated a national infrastructure campaign that built roads, schools, and hospitals.

He ordered a mandatory literacy program, and those who didn’t participate risked three years in jail, but 1,000’s learned to read.

Iraq at this time, created one of the best public health systems in the middle east.

This earned him an award form the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

He also served in the Iraqi armed forces as a lieutenant general from 1973 until 1976, when he was promoted to general.

On July 16, 1979, President al-Bakr resigned and Saddam rose to the presidency.

A year later, Saddam Hussein launched a war against neighboring Iran, a country whose secular government had been toppled a year earlier by a fundamentalist Shi'ite Muslim cleric. Saddam also saw the disputed border region along the Persian Gulf as a major source of oil and power.

Hussein used secret police and brutal force to crush internal opposition. Lead to gas attack in the Kurdish villages in northern Iraq. In 1990 Saddam ordered an invasion on Kuwait.

An international coalition led by the U.S. defeated Iraq and forced a general

retreat.

Although Kurds in the north and Shia in the south attempted to exploit a weakened Saddam and rose up, his decade-long rule remained intact and his ability to marshal military support allowed him to crush the rebellions. Since then, he has maintained control through the use of force and the portrayal of himself as the defender of the nation against anti-Iraqi forces like colonial Britain and the U.S.

Saddam Today:

saddam in Kuwait

Ba’ath party flag

saddam in Egypt

Prison saddam escapes to in Syria

abdel karim Qassem Prime Minister in Irag

law school in Egypt

President al bakr

books for education in Baghdad