Saddam Hussein was the first president of Iraq.
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr ( أحمد حسن البكر ; 1 July 1914 -- 4 October 1982 ) was the fourth President of Iraq , serving in this capacity from 17 July 1968 until 16 July 1979 . Iraq . After an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003 , Saddam Hussein 's Ba'ath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005 . 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 .