Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti (June 18, 1964 Baghdad – July 22, 2003 Mosul) Arabic: عدي صدام حسين; also transliterated as Odai) was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein and his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father. He produced the newspaper Babel as well as the youth radio station Voice of Iraq (which ran American pop songs). His erratic behavior and troubled relationship with his father and brother were well publicized in the media both before and after he was killed at age 39 by U.S. military forces following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
He was briefly married to the daughter of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, former vice president and deputy chairman of Saddam's Revolutionary Command Council.
Biography
Although his status as Saddam Hussein's eldest son made him the prospective successor to his father, Uday fell out of favor with Saddam for his extravagance and recklessness. He was by all accounts a sadist and pervert par excellence. In October 1988, at a party in honor of Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Uday murdered his father's personal valet and food taster, Kemal Hana Gegeo. Before an assemblage of horrified guests, Uday—intoxicated and in cold blood—bludgeoned Gegeo with a cane, reputedly administering the coup de grâce with an electric carving knife. Gegeo had recently introduced Saddam to a beautiful younger woman, Samira Shahbandar, who later became Saddam's second wife. Uday considered his father's relationship with Shahbandar an insult to his own mother. He furthermore feared losing succession to Gegeo, whose loyalty and fidelity to Saddam Hussein were unquestioned.[2] Mubarak later described Uday as a "psychopath".
As punishment for the murder, Saddam briefly imprisoned his son. The original sentence was eight years; Uday probably served half of that in a private prison. In response to personal intervention from King Hussein of Jordan, Saddam released Uday, banishing him to Switzerland as the assistant to the Iraqi ambassador there. He was expelled by the Swiss government after he threatened to stab a person in a restaurant.
Also in 1988, Uday was involved in the illicit purchase of enriched uranium from South Africa.
Saddam later appointed Uday head of the Iraqi Olympic committee. In this role he was responsible for the torture of athletes and later, the head of one of Saddam's security organizations. Uday seemed proud of his reputation and called himself Abu Sarhan, Arabic for "father of the wolf."
Uday sustained permanent injuries during an assassination attempt possibly instigated by his younger brother Qusay in December 1996. Struck by eight bullets while driving his Porsche, Uday was initially believed to be paralyzed. Evacuated to Ibn Sina Hospital, he was treated by a Cuban medical team and eventually recovered his ability to walk, albeit with a limp. Despite repeated operations, however, a bullet remained lodged in his spine. In the wake of Uday's subsequent disabilities, Saddam gave Qusay increasing responsibility and authority, later designating him as his heir in 2000.
Uday (left), with his father, Saddam (center), and his brother, Qusay On March 17, 2003, United States President George W. Bush issued Saddam Hussein and sons an ultimatum in which he ordered them to leave Iraq within 48 hours or face war. Uday sarcastically responded to the threat by demanding that Bush and his family leave the United States. Before the specified time limit had expired, the Bush administration decided to strike Saddam's stronghold in an attempt to deal a devastating blow to Iraqi resistance. Though neither Saddam nor his sons were present in the compound at the time of the assault, an Iraqi army captain and dozens of civilians were killed.
Death
Soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division and US Special Forces (Task Force 20) watch as a TOW missile strikes the side of a house of Uday and Qusay Hussein in Mosul, Iraq, July 22, 2003
Destroyed house of Uday and Qusay in Mosul, Iraq, July 31, 2003On July 22, 2003, troops of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, aided by U.S. Special Forces, killed Uday, Qusay and Qusay's fourteen-year-old son Mustapha during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Acting on a tip from an unidentified Iraqi, a Special Forces team attempted to apprehend the inhabitants of the house. After U.S. troops hotwired Uday's Lamborghini, he revealed himself, upon which a gunfight ensued. The Special Forces contingent withdrew to request backup. As many as 200 American troops, later aided by Apache helicopters and an A-10 "Warthog" gunship, surrounded and fir
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