Saddam Hussein was born.
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic : صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي ; 28 April 1937 -- 30 December 2006 ) was the fifth President of Iraq , serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003 . Whereas some in the Arab world lauded Saddam for his opposition to the United States and for attacking Israel -- he was widely condemned for the brutality of his dictatorship . On 5 November 2006 , Saddam was convicted of charges of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites , and was sentenced to death by hanging .