Saddam Hussein was a world famous tyrant who ruled Iraq with total disregard for established rules or any international regulations; but if Saddam Hussein was bad, his son, Uday, Hussein was worse. During his lifetime, he committed many crimes including mass murder, torture, rape, violence, to name a few. He was the supposed successor of his father, Saddam Hussein, as President of Iraq, however, due to his misdemeanors, the succession reverted to his brother, Qusay.
Uday Hussein lived a short and brutal life. He was often accused of abusing his wives and never showed loyalty to anyone except his parents. He killed some of his relatives, friends and bodyguards; anyone who got on the wrong side was treated mercilessly. This is not surprising considering the upbringing he had, living as the son of one of the greatest dictators the world has ever known. Let’s take a look inside the life of Uday Hussein, keep reading!
Who was U day Hussein?
Uday Hussein was born on June 18, 1974 in Tikrit, Iraq to Saddam Hussein and his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was born while his father was imprisoned for the attempted assassination of Iraq’s 24th Prime Minister, General Abd al-Karim Qasim. Uday was also a very ruthless leader, taking pride in killing his enemies. He is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Iraq alone.
While her mother was nothing more than a loyal wife and cousin to her husband, Saddam. While he was in prison, she would deliver secret messages to him by placing them in Uday’s diapers whenever they went to visit her. Uday had four siblings, a younger brother, Qusay, and three sisters – Raghad, Rana and Hal.
At the age of 5, Uday began watching the public executions of Iraqi Jewish spies by his father. Saddam was proud of this and thought it wise for his children to know how to defeat their enemies. There is no information about Uday’s basic education; however, it is known that he attended the University College of Medicine in Baghdad. After graduating, he enrolled in a school – the College of Engineering – a mile from the old one and went on to earn an engineering degree.
In 1983 Uday joined the army. He sought to fight in the Gulf War between Iran and Iraq, alongside his home country. However, before joining the army, he studied military strategy at Al-Bakr Military Academy. There he also learned to fly a helicopter. As is typical of Uday, he also mishandled this privilege as he engaged in flying missions without proper instructions. He also destroyed many properties and killed many people due to his failed flight missions during the war. His father did not take his actions kindly and therefore forbade him to fly any of the military aircraft.
Uday Hussein must have had some sort of interest in journalism, or he understood the power of the media, hence his creation of a youth radio station, a television station and then a youth newspaper in 1985. Five years later, he created another newspaper organization called Babel. Initially, it was built to disseminate information, but eventually it became an instrument to propagate the ideologies of the Baathist movement.
After that time he had fallen out with his father and was banished to Switzerland where he was also deported for having had a lot of trouble. Upon his return to Iraq, his father appointed him president of the Iraqi Olympic Committee and the Iraqi Football Association. As president, he would torture any athlete or footballer who failed to live up to his expectations. Many would call Uday Hussein a psychotic, which was hard to believe judging by the sustained demeanor.
His erratic behavior popularized him, as expected in a bad light. Even as secretary of the Iraqi Union of Students and leader of Fedayeen Saddam, a paramilitary unit, he still had violent tendencies and was responsible for the serious injuries sustained by his father’s half-brother. In December 1996, he survived an assassination attempt which left him with an obvious lameness and two bullets to the spine after being shot approximately 13 times. He underwent several surgeries to remove most of the bullets and survived.
However, on July 22, 2003, Uday was killed by JSOC Task Force 20 and the US military. The United States has accused the Iraqi government of possessing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and of having close ties to the Islamic terrorist group Al-Queda. During the invasion, Uday and his brother, Qusay Hussein, hid in Mosul where they were eventually discovered and killed, alongside his 14-year-old nephew, Mustapha Hussein (Qusay’s son).
5 Facts You Need To Know About Uday “Wolf” Hussein
1. He became a murderer at the age of 15
At the age of fifteen, Uday Hussein was among those who massacred all the members of the Iraqi cabinet. At that time, his father intended to become the country’s president, which he eventually did. This event happened in 1979.
2. He lost his right of succession
Uday lost his right of succession to his younger brother, Qusay. At first he was groomed to take over from his father, but he lost that privilege by assassinating one of his father’s most trusted allies, food taster and valet, Kamel Hana Gegeo. It was reported that Kamel introduced Saddam Hussein to his second wife, Samira Shahbandar, which Uday considered an insult to his mother, who was the first wife.
At a party held for the then Egyptian president’s wife, in October 1988, Uday assassinated Kamel by repeatedly stabbing him with an electric carving knife in front of his father’s distinguished guests. This was the pinnacle of it all, Uday had managed to get into his father’s black books, hence the change of successor. It is also said that the injuries he suffered from his assassination attempt in 1996 also contributed to his father’s final decision on the matter.
3. He was imprisoned and deported
After the murder of his father’s valet, Kamel, Uday was sent to prison and sentenced to death by his father’s regime. His car fleet was also set on fire by his father. However, he was not destined to die by his father’s hands when he was released from prison at the behest of King Husseini of Jordan. Although he was released, he was banned from Iraq, so he moved to Switzerland. In Switzerland, he continued his violent behavior and was eventually expelled.
4. Uday raped and sexually assaulted several women
Besides being a murderer and bully, Uday was also a rapist. He raped any woman or girl he chose at will. He also allegedly broke up marriages and raped brides during marriage. Girls and underage students were not excluded from his evil program and he was never reprimanded for these acts.
Also Read – The Life and Death of Muammar Gaddafi: How Did He Die, What Was His Net Worth?
5. He was married 4 times
Uday Hussein was married four times during his lifetime, however, all of his wives deserted him due to his abusive nature. Most of his marriages were to establish political relationships. He was first married to Nada, the daughter of his father’s first cousin. The marriage ended shortly thereafter in divorce. Uday later married Saja, but she also left Uday and fled to Switzerland after suffering emotional and physical abuse.
His third marriage was to the daughter of IzzatIbrahim al-Douri, Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. Her name was Suha. It was like the first one and soon it was disbanded. His last marriage was to a former beauty queen, Sevim Torun and their story was no different from any other.