Life of Saddam Hussein

1.30am

Here are key dates in the life of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein who was captured today in his home town of Tikrit.

April 28, 1937 - Born in al-Awja village outside Tikrit, 150km north of Baghdad.

Oct 1956 - Joins an uprising against the pro-British royalist rulers and then becomes a militant in the pan-Arab, secular Baath Party.

Oct 1959 - A year after the overthrow of the monarchy, takes part in an attempt to kill Prime Minister Abdel-Karim Kassem. Flees abroad.

Feb 1963 - Returns to Baghdad when the Baath Party seizes power in a military coup, but nine months later Baathists are toppled. Caught and jailed. Elected deputy secretary-general of the party while in prison.

July 1968 - Saddam helps plot the coup that puts the Baath Party back in power, deposing President Abdul-Rahman Aref.

March 1975 - As vice-president of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), Saddam signs a border agreement with the Shah of Iran, who ends support for an Iraqi Kurdish revolt, causing its collapse.

July 16, 1979 - Takes power after President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr steps aside as chairman of the RCC.

Sept 22, 1980 - Following border skirmishes, Saddam launches war on Iran that lasts eight years.

March 16, 1988 - Iraqi forces launch chemical attack on Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja, killing about 5000 people.

Aug 20, 1988 - A ceasefire is officially implemented in the Iran-Iraq war. The campaign against Kurds continues.

Aug 2, 1990 - Launches invasion of Kuwait, prompting UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Iraq.

Jan 17, 1991 - US-led forces start Gulf War with air attacks on Iraq and occupied Kuwait.

Feb 28, 1991 - Hostilities end with eviction of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

April 3, 1991 - UN Security Council orders Iraq to scrap chemical, biological, nuclear and long-range missile programmes.

Oct 15, 1995 - Saddam wins a presidential referendum and is elected unopposed with more than 99 per cent of the vote.

Feb 23, 1996 - Two senior Iraqi defectors, both married to Saddam's daughters, are reported murdered by relatives just days after returning from Jordan.

Oct 15, 2002 - Official results show Saddam wins 100 per cent of votes in a referendum for a new term in office.

Dec 7, 2002 - Saddam apologises for invasion of Kuwait but blames the emirates' leadership. Kuwait rejects the apology.

Feb 2, 2003 - In his first interview in more than a decade, Saddam denies Baghdad has banned weapons or any links to al Qaeda.

March 15 - Saddam puts Iraq on a war footing, dividing the country into four military districts and putting his younger son Qusay in command of the vital Baghdad-Tikrit area.

March 20 - US launches war against Iraq with strikes on Baghdad targeting "very senior" leadership. Saddam later appears on TV urging Iraqis to defend their country.

April 7 - US aircraft drop four 900kg bombs on a building in a residential area of Baghdad after US intelligence reports indicate that Saddam and his two sons might have been inside with other Iraqi leaders.

April 9 - US forces sweep into the heart of Baghdad to an ecstatic welcome as Saddam Hussein's 24-year rule crumbles.

July 22 - US military confirms that Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in gun battle in Mosul.

Dec 14 - Saddam is captured.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq