Obituary: Saddam Hussain
Who was Saddam Hussain? Here's an insight into his life
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain was executed for crimes against humanity on Saturday.
He is survived by three daughters and a son (two deceased).
Saddam was born Saddam Hussain al Tikriti on April 28, 1937, in Al Awja, near Tikrit.
The Sunni Muslim married twice and became president in 1979.
In 1980, he launched a war against Iran that lasted eight years and cost hundreds of thousands of lives.
Saddam then led an army to invade Kuwait in 1990, but US-led forces drove his troops out in 1991.
In March 2003, the United States launched a war against Iraq. Saddam went into hiding but was arrested in Tikrit in December 2003.
In October 2005, Saddam is brought to court over charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shiite men Dujail in 1982. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In August 2006, Saddam's second trial, on charges of war crimes against Iraqi Kurds, began. He refused to plead guilty.
On November 5, 2006, Saddam is found guilty of crimes against humanity for the Dujail deaths and sentenced to hang. He was finally executed on the early morning of December 30.
