Facts About Saddam Hussein

Facts About Saddam Hussein

Father: Hussein Abd al-Majid — he died (or disappeared) before Saddam was born in 1937. The exact circumstances of his death are unclear.
Mother: Subha Tulfah al-Mussallat — she raised Saddam after his father's disappearance/death.

Saddam was born on April 28, 1937, in Al-Awja, near Tikrit, Iraq.

An important part of his childhood is that his father was absent, so Saddam spent part of his early childhood with his maternal uncle, Khairallah Talfah, who became a major influence on him. Khairallah was a strong Arab nationalist and later became an important figure in Saddam's political life.

Interestingly, Saddam's future wife Sajida Talfah was Khairallah Talfah's daughter—so Saddam married his cousin, just as Hitler's parents were also cousins, although the family relationships were different in detail.

Rise to Power - The Ba'ath Party

Saddam Hussein's rise to power was gradual. He did not simply become president overnight. He spent about two decades building influence inside the Ba'ath Party, using alliances, political maneuvering, and eventually force.

Saddam joined the Iraqi Ba'ath Party as a young man. The party promoted Arab nationalism, socialism, and a unified Arab state.

In the 1950s, Iraq was a monarchy ruled by King Faisal II, with Britain having considerable influence.

Saddam became involved in political violence. In 1959, he participated in an assassination attempt against Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim. The attempt failed, and Saddam fled Iraq, eventually reaching Syria and then Egypt.

The Ba'ath Party Seized Power

The Ba'athists helped overthrow Qasim in a 1963 coup. But the Ba'athists didn't remain in power for long. Internal conflicts caused them to lose power later that year. Saddam, however, had learned an important lesson: control of the security apparatus was essential to controlling Iraq.

In July 1968, the Ba'ath Party successfully seized power again. This time Saddam was one of the most important people behind the new regime, although he wasn't officially president. The president was Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Saddam's older cousin and fellow Tikriti. Saddam became vice president and gradually accumulated enormous power.

Saddam built a powerful security state

During the 1970s, Saddam systematically placed loyalists in important positions.

He gained influence over intelligence services, internal security, the military, the Ba'ath Party, and government institutions. He also benefited from the oil boom of the 1970s, which gave the Iraqi government enormous revenues to spend on development and patronage.

By this point, although al-Bakr was technically president, Saddam was increasingly the real power behind the government.

Saddam becomes president — 1979

In July 1979, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr suddenly resigned. Saddam became President of Iraq.

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr's resignation in July 1979 is generally understood to have been the result of Saddam Hussein forcing him out, rather than al-Bakr freely deciding to retire.

But one of the most notorious events occurred shortly afterward: At a meeting of senior Ba'ath Party officials, Saddam announced that there had been a conspiracy against him. Several officials were identified as traitors and taken away. Some were subsequently executed.

What Saddam did relatively well

Saddam Hussein had some genuine achievements, but they came alongside extremely severe repression and catastrophic wars.

Education: Iraq expanded literacy and access to education substantially, particularly during the oil-rich 1970s.

Healthcare: The government built hospitals and expanded access to healthcare. Iraq developed one of the stronger healthcare systems in the Arab world during that period.

Infrastructure: Oil revenues funded roads, electricity, water systems, schools, universities and other infrastructure.

Women's education and employment: The Ba'athist government encouraged women's participation in education and the workforce.

Economic development: During the 1970s, Iraq experienced significant economic growth after oil revenues increased and the oil industry was nationalized.

The Enormous Downside

Saddam was an authoritarian dictator. Political opposition was suppressed through imprisonment, torture, executions and disappearances. His government also carried out mass atrocities against Kurdish and Shi'a populations.

The most notorious example was the Anfal campaign (1987–1988) against Iraqi Kurds, which included chemical attacks. The Halabja chemical attack in 1988 killed thousands of civilians.

And Saddam's decisions contributed to two disastrous wars:

Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) → enormous casualties and destruction.

Invasion of Kuwait (1990) → led to the Gulf War, devastating sanctions, and further suffering for Iraq.

Then came the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, which removed Saddam and eventually led to his execution in 2006.

Saddam Hussein was married twice: 

Sajida Talfah — his first and most prominent wife. They married in 1963 and had five children: sons Uday and Qusay, and daughters Raghad, Rana, and Hala.

Samira Shahbandar — his second wife, whom he married in the 1980s. They had a son, Ali.

The First Wife

Saddam's first and principal wife was Sajida Talfah (also spelled Sajida Khayrallah Talfah), daughter of his maternal uncle Khayrallah Talfah. This made her Saddam's first cousin.

The marriage was arranged when Saddam was about 5 years old and Sajida about 7 — a traditional custom in their region and era. They married in 1963 (engaged earlier in Cairo during his exile).

Cousin marriage was common and culturally accepted within Iraqi tribal society at the time, especially among elite families from the Tikrit region, to preserve wealth, power, and tribal alliances.

Saddam later took a second wife (Samira Shahbandar), but Sajida remained his publicly recognized first lady.

Their Sons

Uday Hussein and Qusay Hussein both were top targets on the U.S. military's "most wanted" list (Ace of Hearts & Ace of Clubs).

The deaths of Uday and Qusay were particularly dramatic. U.S. forces surrounded the house in Mosul on July 22, 2003, and a prolonged firefight followed. Uday, Qusay, and Qusay's son Mustapha were killed.

They were never imprisoned; they died resisting arrest.

Their Daughters

None of the daughters were captured or imprisoned by U.S. forces or the new Iraqi government. They all fled Iraq with their families and received asylum in neighboring countries.

In 1995, both Raghad and Rana fled Iraq with their husbands, Hussein Kamel and Saddam Kamel, and their children, and went to Jordan. Their husbands had defected from Saddam's regime and provided information about Iraq's military and weapons programs.

Saddam eventually persuaded the families to return to Iraq, promising forgiveness. But in February 1996, the two brothers-in-law were killed by members of Saddam's own family/clan after being branded traitors.

Relative	Relation	Fate
Sajida Talfah	First wife / cousin	Fled to Qatar, on Iraq's most-wanted list (accused of funding insurgency). Never captured or jailed. Alive.
Samira Shahbandar	Second wife	Fled to Syria, then reportedly Turkey. Status uncertain; reportedly in poor straits.
Ali Saddam Hussein	Youngest son (by Samira)	Born ~1980. Virtually unknown — whereabouts a mystery.
Hussein Kamel	Son-in-law (Raghad's husband)	Defected 1995, returned under amnesty → assassinated by Saddam's men 1996, before the war.
Saddam Kamel	Son-in-law (Rana's husband)	Same as above — assassinated 1996.
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti	Half-brother, intelligence chief	Captured, tried, hanged 2007.
Watban Ibrahim	Half-brother, interior minister	Captured, sentenced to death, died in prison 2015.
Sabawi Ibrahim	Half-brother, security chief	Captured, sentenced to death, died in prison 2013.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri	Deputy leader	Fled, led insurgency, died 2020.