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He was born on 28 April 1937 in Al-Ouja, a small village 13 kilometers south of Tikrit, on the western banks of the Tigris River, in north-central Iraq. His father was a poor peasant who died/disappeared before Saddam was born, while his mother did not earn a lot of money.
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Saddam Hussein did not learn to read and write until he was 10 years old, because of his violent stepdad. His stepdad was a bully who repeatedly humiliated Saddam and prevented him from attending school.
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At 10 years old, Saddam goes to live with his uncle who instilled an appreciation of Arab nationalism in the young Saddam. His uncle, Khairallah Tulfah, was originally an army officer in Tikrit who had been imprisoned in 1941 for joining an attempt to drive the British out of Iraq. His uncle is the reason Saddam started to read and write.
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In 1955, Saddam moved to Baghadad with his uncle, where he enrolled at Karkh High School with the aim of entering the Baghdad Military Academy to follow in his uncle's footsteps. One can see that from a young age Saddam praised his uncle.
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In 1957, Saddam failed his entrance exam to enter the Baghdad Military Academy, which was a crushing blow to him.
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In 1957, Saddam, who was inspired by the political views of his uncle, joined the Baath Party. This soon involved him in a variety of violent anti-government activities such as organising thugs to beat up political opponents on the street of Baghdad.
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In October 1958, Saddam demonstrated his loyalty to Khairallah by carrying out an assassination of a local government official in Tikrit who had informed against him.
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In 1959, Saddam was selected to participate in an attempt to assassinate Iraq's ruler, General Abdul Karim Qassem. The attempt in October failed and Saddam was wounded. However, the attempt marked Saddam's emergence into the limelight as one of Iraq's most wanted man.
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After his attempted assassination, Saddam is forced to go into exile. After three months in Damascus, he left for Cairo where he spent the next three years.
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In 1961, at the age of 24, Saddam graduated from high school in Cairo and the following year enrolled for a law degree at the city's university.
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In February of 1963, Saddem returns to Iraq after the overthrow and death of Qassem. Qassem was replaced by a government consisting of army officers and the Baath Party. Saddam was given a minor position.
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In February 1964, Saddam was rewarded for his loyalty by becoming a member of the Regional Command.
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Saddam began plotting a coup against President Arif a couple months before to overthrow the president this month.
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Unfortunately for Saddam, the conspiracy plans were uncovered and he spent two years in jail before escaping in July 1966
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Saddam was the prime mover in a series of diplomatic initiatives that led to a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Soviet Russia, signed in April 1972, ensuring that Iraq had a superpower ally.
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By 1972 Saddam was probably the most influential man in the government as the president and deputy acted more as equals. However Saddam acted cautious, not wanting to be singled out as the man who wanted to become president.
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In 1979, amid circumstances that had almost certainly involved threats and bullying, Bakr was encouraged to resign in favour of Saddam who achieved the presidency.
