Saddam Hussein was born in April, 1937, into a poor farmer's family in Tikrit, in Saladdin Province, northwest of Baghdad. He went to Cairo to study law in 1960.

    Saddam joined the Arab Baath Socialist Party when he was 20 and soon became one of the major leaders of the party. He held the position of deputy secretary-general of the regional leadership of the Baath party for a long time.

    In 1969, Saddam become vice chairman of the Revolution Command Council.

    In 1979, Saddam was elected president of the Republic of Iraq, chairman of the Revolution Command Council and secretary-general of the regional leadership of the Baath party in Iraq.

    In 1980, Iraq launched the eight-year war with Iran under the leadership of Saddam.

    In 1990, Saddam ordered the invasion of Kuwait, which led to the Gulf War in 1991.

    The United States and Britain invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, claiming the country possessed weapons of mass destruction. On April 9, U.S. troops occupied the capital Baghdad and toppled Saddam's regime.

    On Dec. 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured near his hometown Tikrit by U.S. forces.

    On June 30, Saddam was "formally transferred" to the Iraqi transitional government. Iraqi special tribunal began trial of Saddam on July 1.

    On Nov. 5, 2006, the Iraqi High Tribunal sentenced Saddam to death Saddam for crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shiite men after a 1982 assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail.