Idi Amin, also known as "Big Daddy" and "Butcher of Africa," is hospitalized in Saudi Arabia, where he has been living in exile.
Early years: Amin, also known as Idi Amin Dada, was born in 1924 or 1925 into the Kakwa tribe of Uganda. He has little education and from an early age planned on a military career. In 1951, he became the heavyweight boxing champion of Uganda.
Career: Amin joined the King's African Rifles of the British colonial army, serving in the British action against the Mau Mau revolt from 1952-56 in Kenya.
When Uganda gained independence from Britain, Amin became a supporter of Milton Obote, the new prime minister. Obote overlooked allegations against Amin of torture, and promoted him to deputy commander in 1964.
Amin discovered that Obote planned to arrest him for misappropriating military funds. On Jan. 25, 1971, while Obote was out of the country, Amin staged a coup. He became president and chief of the armed forces and immediately began mass executions of troops he believed loyal to Obote.
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Amin became life president in 1976. He expelled the country's 50,000 Indians and Pakistanis, and launched a campaign of persecution against rival tribes, murdering between 100,000 and 500,000 people.
In 1978, in an attempt to divert attention from Uganda's internal problems, Amin launched an attack on Tanzania. Tanzania, assisted by armed Ugandan exiles, counter-invaded. In 1979, Tanzanian forces took Uganda's capital. Amin fled, spending nearly 10 years in Libya and Iraq before settling in Saudi Arabia.
Family: Amin married four women, but killed two of them. He has seven children.
In his words: "In any country there must be people who have to die. They are the sacrifices any nation has to make to achieve law and order."
Web link: www.cbv.ns.ca/dictator/Amin.html
Sources: Ccbv.ns.ca, Brainyquote.com, sawf.org
