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Quick Facts
- NAME: Idi Amin
- OCCUPATION: Military Leader, World Leader
- BIRTH DATE: c. 1925
- DEATH DATE: August 16, 2003
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Koboko, Uganda
- PLACE OF DEATH: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Originally: Idi Amin Dada
Best Known For
Idi Amin became known as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutal, tyrannical rule while president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979.
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Idi Amin - Mini Bio (3:36)
Idi Amin - Mini Bio
Idi Amin joined the King's African Rifles in 1946 and soon developed a bad reputation for his treatment of detainees. He staged a military coup in 1971. As President of Uganda, his brutality made many consider him the "Butcher of Uganda."
Idi Amin Dada. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 11:15, May 22, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487
Idi Amin Dada [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487, May 22
" Idi Amin Dada." 2012. Biography.com 22 May 2012, 11:15 http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487
' Idi Amin Dada', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487 [accessed May 22, 2012]
" Idi Amin Dada," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487 (accessed May 22, 2012).
Idi Amin Dada [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 22]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487.
Idi Amin Dada, http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487 (last visited May 22, 2012).
Idi Amin Dada, http://www.biography.com/people/idi-amin-9183487 (last visited May 22, 2012).
Synopsis
A member of the small Kakwa ethnic group of northwestern Uganda, Idi Amin entered the Ugandan military at a young age and soon rose through the ranks. In 1971, he staged a successful military coup and named himself president and chief of the armed forces. After a Tanzanian-led coup in 1979, he fled the country. On August 16, 2003, Amin died in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Quotes
I am the hero of Africa.
Profile
A member of the small Kakwa ethnic group of northwestern Uganda, Idi Amin's birth date is unconfirmed, but estimated to have been in 1925. His mother, an herbalist and diviner, raised him after his father deserted the family. Amin had little formal education before joining the King's African Rifles of the British colonial army in 1946 as an assistant cook. Extremely charismatic and skilled, he quickly rose through the ranks. His stature was rather notable. He stood six feet, four inches tall and was a Ugandan boxing champion from 1951 to 1960, as well as a swimmer. He soon became notorious among fellow soldiers for his overzealous and cruel military interrogations. Eventually he made the highest rank possible for a Black African serving in the British Army. From 1952 until 1956, he served in the Allied forces' Burma campaign during World War II and in the British action against the Mau Mau revolt in Kenya (1952–56). Before Uganda's independence in 1962, he became closely associated with the new nation's prime minister and president, Milton Obote. The two men worked to smuggle gold, coffee and ivory out of Congo, but conflicts soon arose between them, and on January 25, 1971, while Obote was attending a meeting in Singapore, Amin staged a successful military coup. Amin became president and chief of the armed forces in 1971, field marshal in 1975, and life president in 1976.
Amin began his rule with popular actions, including freeing several political prisoners. Simultaneously, however, he sent out “killer squads” to hunt down and murder Obote's supporters, predominantly those from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups, military personnel and civilians. His victims soon came to include people from every order and rank, including journalists, lawyers, homosexuals, students and senior bureaucrats. He expelled all Asians from Uganda in 1972, an action that led to the breakdown of his country's economy. He became known as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutality. It is believed that some 300,000 people were killed during his presidency. In July 1976 he was personally involved in the hijacking of a French airliner to Entebbe. In October 1978 Amin ordered an attack on Tanzania. Aided by Ugandan nationalists, Tanzanian troops eventually overpowered the Ugandan army. As the Tanzanian-led forces neared Kampala, Uganda's capital, on April 13, 1979, Amin fled the city. Escaping first to Libya, he finally settled in Saudi Arabia. On August 16, 2003, Idi Amin died in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The cause of death was reported to be multiple organ failure. Although the Ugandan government announced that
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