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• Saddam Hussein
  Saddam Hussein

  noun

  See Hussein
• Hussein, Saddam
  Hussein, Saddam

  Dictator of Iraq who seized power in 1979. With the intent of making Iraq the dominant power in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, Hussein invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. The latter invasion provoked a military response from the United Nations, led by the United States, which drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991. (See Persian Gulf War.)

Saddam Hussein

British  

/ sæˈdæm /

noun

1. See Hussein

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Hussein, Saddam Cultural  

1. Dictator of Iraq who seized power in 1979. With the intent of making Iraq the dominant power in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, Hussein invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. The latter invasion provoked a military response from the United Nations, led by the United States, which drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991. (See Persian Gulf War.)

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Although widely loathed outside the Arab world and feared by most Arab governments, Hussein retains some of his appeal to the Arab masses because of his resolute defiance of the United States and western Europe.

Hussein's cruelty and deviousness have become legendary. He has ruthlessly suppressed both Shi'ite Muslims and Kurds within Iraq; in 1987 and 1988 he authorized poison gas attacks on Kurdish villages.

Example Sentences

Troops set up at the facility that dates back to the time of Saddam Hussein in the Najaf desert, one official said.

From Barron's • May 10, 2026

More recently, a statue of Saddam Hussein famously met the same fate.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

For some around US President George W Bush there was a feeling of unfinished business from the 1991 Gulf War when Saddam Hussein had been ejected from Kuwait but remained in power.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Seven months later, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and the pipeline never took off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

That, and the giant photograph of Saddam Hussein he selected from the wall of targets.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis