Idi Amin Dada (/ˈiːdi ɑːˈmiːn/; c. 1925 – 16
August 2003) was the third
President of Uganda, ruling from
1971 to
1979.
Amin joined the
British colonial regiment, the
King's African Rifles in 1946, serving in
Kenya and
Uganda.
Eventually, Amin held the rank of major general in the post-colonial
Ugandan Army and became its commander before seizing power in the military coup of
January 1971, deposing
Milton Obote. He later promoted himself to field marshal while he was the head of state.
Amin's rule was characterized by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from
100,
000 to
500,000.
During his years in power, Amin shifted in allegiance from being a pro-Western ruler enjoying considerable
Israeli support to being backed by
Libya's
Muammar Gaddafi, the
Soviet Union, and
East Germany. In
1975, Amin became the chairman of the
Organisation of African Unity (
OAU), a Pan-Africanist group designed to promote solidarity of the African states.[6] During the
1977–1979 period, Uganda was a member of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights. In 1977, when
Britain broke diplomatic relations with Uganda, Amin declared he had defeated the
British and added "
CBE", for "
Conqueror of the British Empire", to his title.
Radio Uganda then announced his entire title: "his Excellency
President for Life,
Field Marshal Alhaji Dr. Idi Amin Dada, VC,
DSO, MC, CBE".
Dissent within Uganda and Amin's attempt to annex the
Kagera province of
Tanzania in 1978 led to the
Uganda–Tanzania War and the demise of his eight-year regime, leading Amin to flee into exile to Libya and
Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death on 16 August 2003.
Amin never wrote an autobiography nor did he authorize any official written account of his life, so there are discrepancies regarding when and where he was born. Most biographical sources hold that he was born in either
Koboko or
Kampala around 1925. Other unconfirmed sources state Amin's year of birth from as early as 1923 to as late as 1928. Amin's son
Hussein has stated that his father was born in Kampala in 1928. According to
Fred Guweddeko, a researcher at
Makerere University,
Idi Amin was the son of
Andreas Nyabire (1889–
1976). Nyabire, a member of the Kakwa ethnic group, converted from
Roman Catholicism to
Islam in 1910 and changed his name to
Amin Dada. He named his first-born son after himself.
Abandoned by his father at a young age, Idi Amin grew up with his mother's family in a rural farming town in northwestern Uganda. Guweddeko states that Amin's mother was
Assa Aatte (1904–
1970), an ethnic Lugbara and a traditional herbalist who treated members of
Buganda royalty, among others. Amin joined an
Islamic school in
Bombo in
1941. After a few years, he left school with nothing more than a fourth-grade
English-language education, and did odd jobs before being recruited to the army by a British colonial army officer.
Amin joined the King's African Rifles (
KAR) of the
British Colonial Army in 1946 as an assistant cook. He claimed he was forced to join the
Army during
World War II and that he served in the
Burma Campaign, but records indicate he was first enlisted after the war was concluded. He was transferred to Kenya for infantry service as a private in
1947 and served in the
21st KAR infantry battalion in
Gilgil, Kenya until 1949. That year, his unit was deployed to
Northern Kenya to fight against
Somali rebels in the
Shifta War. In
1952 his brigade was deployed against the
Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. He was promoted to corporal the same year, then to sergeant in
1953.
In
1959, Amin was made Afande (warrant officer), the highest rank possible for a
Black African in the colonial
British Army of that time. Amin returned to Uganda the same year, and in
1961 he was promoted to lieutenant, becoming one of the first two
Ugandans to become commissioned officers. He 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, Amin was promoted to captain and then, in
1963, to major. He was appointed
Deputy Commander of the Army in 1964, and the following year to
Commander of the Army. In 1970, he was promoted to commander of all the armed forces.
- published: 19 May 2015
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