Saddam Hussein died on 30 December 2006 in Camp Justice, aged 69. An Iraqi politician, Saddam Hussein rose through the Ba'ath Party and, after taking the presidency in 1979, ruled Iraq as a dictator with an extensive security apparatus. He led the country into the war with Iran in 1980, which lasted eight years, and his regime used chemical weapons against Kurdish civilians. In 1990 he invaded Kuwait, which led to the Gulf War and to years of United Nations sanctions. The United States-led invasion of 2003 overthrew his government, and he was captured in December of that year. An Iraqi tribunal convicted him of crimes against humanity for the killing of villagers in Dujail, and he was executed by hanging.
Before and after
- 13 December 2006Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- from 20 December 2006 to 30 January 2009War in Somalia
- 21 December 2006Founding of University of Pula
- 26 December 2006Death of Gerald Ford
- 30 December 2006Death of Saddam Hussein
- c. 2007Great Recession
- 2007First light of Gran Telescopio Canarias
- 2007Construction of Sheikh Zayed Mosque
- 2007United States subprime mortgage crisis
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 12 March 1947 to 25 December 1991Cold War
- from 3 April 1948 to 1 December 1951Marshall Plan
- 26 July 1953Cuban Revolution
- from 14 October 1962 to 28 October 1962Cuban Missile Crisis
- from 2 April 1982 to 14 June 1982Falklands War
- 26 December 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.