77 Facts About Idi Amin

Idi Amin ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern world history.

Idi Amin rose to the rank of lieutenant, taking part in British actions against Somali rebels and then the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya.

Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, and Idi Amin remained in the army, rising to the position of major and being appointed commander of the Uganda Army in 1965.

Idi Amin became aware that Ugandan President Milton Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, so he launched the 1971 Ugandan coup d'etat and declared himself president.

In 1972, Idi Amin expelled Asians, a majority of whom were Indian-Ugandans, leading India to sever diplomatic relations with his regime.

In 1975, Idi Amin became the chairman of the Organisation of African Unity, a Pan-Africanist group designed to promote solidarity among African states.

The United Kingdom broke diplomatic relations with Uganda in 1977, and Idi Amin declared that he had defeated the British and added "CBE" to his title for "Conqueror of the British Empire".

Idi Amin then attempted to annex Tanzania's Kagera Region in 1978.

Idi Amin went into exile, first in Libya, then Iraq, and finally in Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death in 2003.

Idi Amin's rule was characterised by rampant human rights abuses, including political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, as well as nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement.

Idi Amin did not write an autobiography, and he did not authorize an official written account of his life.

Idi Amin's son Hussein has stated that his father was born in Kampala in 1928.

Guweddeko states that Idi Amin's mother was Assa Aatte, an ethnic Lugbara and a traditional herbalist who treated members of Buganda royalty, among others.

Some sources have described Idi Amin as being of mixed Kakwa-Nubian origin.

Idi Amin joined the British King's African Rifles in 1946 as an assistant cook, while at the same time receiving military training until 1947.

Idi Amin was transferred to Kenya for infantry service as a private in 1947, and served in the 21st KAR infantry battalion in Gilgil, Kenya Colony until 1949.

Idi Amin was promoted to corporal the same year, then to sergeant in 1953.

In 1959, Idi Amin was made Effendi class 2, the highest rank possible for a black African in the colonial British military of that time.

Idi Amin returned to Uganda the same year and received a short-service commission as a lieutenant on 15 July 1961, becoming one of the first two Ugandans to become commissioned officers.

Idi Amin was assigned to quell the cattle rustling between Uganda's Karamojong and Kenya's Turkana nomads.

In 1962, following Uganda's independence from the United Kingdom, Idi Amin was promoted to captain and then, in 1963, to major.

Idi Amin was appointed Deputy Commander of the Army in 1964 and, the following year, to Commander of the Army.

Idi Amin was an athlete during his time in both the British and Uganda Army.

Amin was a formidable rugby forward, although one officer said of him: "Idi Amin is a splendid type and a good player, but virtually bone from the neck up, and needs things explained in words of one letter".

In 1965, Prime Minister Milton Obote and Idi Amin were implicated in a deal to smuggle ivory and gold into Uganda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Idi Amin led an attack on the Kabaka's palace and forced Mutesa into exile to the United Kingdom, where he remained until his death in 1969.

Idi Amin began recruiting members of Kakwa, Lugbara, South Sudanese, and other ethnic groups from the West Nile area bordering South Sudan.

Many African ethnic groups in northern Uganda inhabit both Uganda and South Sudan; allegations persist that Idi Amin's army consisted mainly of South Sudanese soldiers.

Troops loyal to Idi Amin sealed off Entebbe International Airport and took Kampala.

Idi Amin, who presented himself a soldier, not a politician, declared that the military government would remain only as a caretaker regime until new elections, which would be held when the situation was normalised.

Idi Amin held a state funeral in April 1971 for Edward Mutesa, former king of Buganda and president who had died in exile; freed many political prisoners; and reiterated his promise to hold free and fair elections to return the country to democratic rule in the shortest period possible.

On 2 February 1971, one week after the coup, Idi Amin declared himself President of Uganda, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Uganda Army Chief of Staff, and Chief of Air Staff.

Idi Amin suspended certain provisions of the Ugandan constitution, and soon instituted an Advisory Defence Council composed of military officers with himself as the chairman.

Idi Amin placed military tribunals above the system of civil law, appointed soldiers to top government posts and government-owned corporations, and informed the newly inducted civilian cabinet ministers that they would be subject to military courtesy.

Idi Amin ruled by decree; over the course of his rule he issued approximately 30 decrees.

Idi Amin renamed the presidential lodge in Kampala from Government House to "The Command Post".

Idi Amin disbanded the General Service Unit, an intelligence agency created by the previous government, and replaced it with the State Research Bureau.

Idi Amin retaliated against the attempted invasion by Ugandan exiles in 1972, by purging the Uganda Army of Obote supporters, predominantly those from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups.

Idi Amin recruited his followers from his own ethnic group, the Kakwas, along with South Sudanese.

On 4 August 1972, Idi Amin issued a decree ordering the expulsion of the 50,000 Asians who were British passport holders.

Idi Amin expropriated businesses and properties belonging to the Asians and the Europeans and handed them over to his supporters.

Idi Amin, who had served with the King's African Rifles and taken part in Britain's suppression of the Mau Mau uprising prior to Ugandan independence, was known by the British as "intensely loyal to Britain".

Idi Amin decided to seek foreign support elsewhere and in February 1972 he visited Libya.

Idi Amin sent several thousand Ugandans to Eastern Bloc countries for military, intelligence, and technical training, especially Czechoslovakia.

In retaliation for Kenya's assistance in the raid, Idi Amin ordered the killing of hundreds of Kenyans living in Uganda.

Uganda under Idi Amin embarked on a large military build-up, which raised concerns in Kenya.

Tension between Uganda and Kenya reached its climax in February 1976, when Idi Amin announced that he would investigate the possibility that parts of southern Sudan and western and central Kenya, up to within 32 kilometres of Nairobi, were historically a part of colonial Uganda.

In January 1977 Idi Amin appointed General Mustafa Adrisi Vice President of Uganda.

The growing dissatisfaction in the Uganda Army was reflected by frequent coup attempts; Idi Amin was even wounded during one of them, namely Operation Mafuta Mingi in June 1977.

Idi Amin then proceeded to purge several high-ranking officials from his government and took personal control of several ministerial portfolios.

Idi Amin sent troops against the mutineers, some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border.

Accordingly, the invading troops acted without his orders, and Idi Amin sanctioned the invasion post facto to save face.

However, as Tanzania began to prepare a counter-offensive, Idi Amin reportedly realised his precarious situation, and attempted to defuse the conflict without losing face.

Idi Amin made few public appearances in the final months of his rule, but spoke frequently on radio and television.

However, Idi Amin was forced to flee the Ugandan capital by helicopter on 11 April 1979, when Kampala was captured.

Idi Amin first escaped to Libya, where he stayed until 1980, and ultimately settled in Saudi Arabia, where the Saudi royal family allowed him sanctuary and paid him a generous subsidy in return for staying out of politics.

Idi Amin lived for a number of years on the top two floors of the Novotel Hotel on Palestine Road in Jeddah.

In 1989, Idi Amin left his exile without authorization by the Saudi Arabian government, and flew alongside one of his sons to Zaire.

In return, Idi Amin had to promise to never again participate in any political or military activities or give interviews.

Idi Amin consequently spent the remainder of his life in Saudi Arabia.

Idi Amin pleaded with the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, to allow him to return to Uganda for the remainder of his life.

Museveni replied that Idi Amin would have to "answer for his sins the moment he was brought back".

Idi Amin was buried in Ruwais Cemetery in Jeddah in a simple grave, without any fanfare.

Idi Amin has defended this, arguing: "I'm not ashamed of considering it, because his regime goes down in the scale of Pol Pot as one of the worst of all African regimes".

Idi Amin married his first and second wives, Malyamu and Kay, in 1966.

In 1974, Kay Idi Amin died under mysterious circumstances, with her body found dismembered.

Idi Amin's last known child, daughter Iman, was born in 1992.

Jaffar Idi Amin said he was writing a book to rehabilitate his father's reputation.

Idi Amin never received the Distinguished Service Order or the Military Cross.

Idi Amin conferred a doctorate of law on himself from Makerere University as well as the Victorious Cross, a medal made to emulate the British Victoria Cross.

Idi Amin became the subject of rumours, including a widespread belief that he was a cannibal.

Idi Amin reportedly boasted that he kept the decapitated heads of political enemies in his freezer, although he said that human flesh was generally "too salty" for his taste.

The comedy-variety series Saturday Night Live aired four Idi Amin sketches between 1976 and 1979, including one in which he was an ill-behaved houseguest in exile, and another in which he was a spokesman against venereal disease.

The foreign media were often criticised by Ugandan exiles and defectors for emphasising Idi Amin's self-aggrandizing eccentricities and taste for excess while downplaying or excusing his murderous behaviour.

Ugandan soldier and rebel Patrick Kimumwe argued that Idi Amin's "clowning conceal[ed] a ruthless extinction of human rights" in Uganda.

Idi Amin is played by Joseph Olita, who reprised this role in Mississippi Masala, a film about romance between African and Asian-Americans following Idi Amin's 1972 expulsion of Asians from Uganda.

In 2006, it was adapted into a movie, where Idi Amin is portrayed by Forest Whitaker.