Saddam Hussein
28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006

Saddam Hussein was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who was the fifth president of Iraq, from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. He also served as prime minister of Iraq, first from 16 July 1979 until 23 March 1991, and later from 29 May 1994 to 9 April 2003. He was a leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organization, the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, which espoused Ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism.

Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)



Iran-Iraq War, prolonged military conflict between Iran and Iraq during the 1980s. Open warfare began on September 22, 1980, when Iraqi armed forces invaded western Iran along the countries’ joint border, though Iraq claimed that the war had begun earlier that month, on September 4, when Iran shelled a number of border posts. Fighting was ended by a 1988 cease-fire, though the resumption of normal diplomatic relations and the withdrawal of troops did not take place until the signing of a formal peace agreement on August 16, 1990.

Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)



Persian Gulf War, also called Gulf War, international conflict that was triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the invasion and occupation of Kuwait with the apparent aim of acquiring that nation’s large oil reserves, canceling a large debt Iraq owed Kuwait, and expanding Iraqi power in the region. It was the first major international crisis of the post-Cold War era, and the U.S.-led response would set important precedents for the use of military force over subsequent decades.

Iraq War, the American invasion of Iraq,
"The Desert Storm" (2003-2011)

Iraq War, also called Second Persian Gulf War, conflict in Iraq that consisted of two phases. The first of these was a brief, conventionally fought war in March–April 2003, in which a combined force of troops from the United States and Great Britain (with smaller contingents from several other countries) invaded Iraq and rapidly defeated Iraqi military and paramilitary forces. It was followed by a longer second phase in which a U.S.-led occupation of Iraq was opposed by an insurgency. After violence began to decline in 2007, the United States gradually reduced its military presence in Iraq, formally completing its withdrawal in December 2011.



On 30 December 2006, Saddam Hussein Al-Majeed was executed by hanging.