Saddam Hussein was born.
Saddam Hussein . As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr , and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government , Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflict between the government and the armed forces . Saddam formally rose to power in 1979 , although he had been the de facto head of Iraq for several years prior . 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 . The total number of Iraqis killed by the security services of Saddam 's government in various purges and genocides is conservatively estimated at 250,000 . 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 .