Saddam Hussein was born on April 28, 1937 in the Tikrit District of Iraq. Soon after he was born into a poor family, his father abandoned them. Saddam's mother remarried and he was frequently beaten by his stepfather. At the age of 10, Saddam left home with his uncle, Khrairallah Tulfah, who was his mother's brother and headed for the capital of Baghdad. His uncle, a schoolteacher, had a great influence on his early life. .
According to MTV.com, Hussein, 22, made his mark on the Iraqi political scene in 1959 when he attempted to assassinate the countries prime minister. He was unsuccessful and was shot in the leg during the endeavor. .
In 1963, Saddam married his cousin, Sajida. Saddam has two sons that are being groomed to replace him when he dies or steps down. "At Saddam's direction, his sons have assumed increasingly prominent roles, creating a widespread but unspoken belief that he"ll eventually designate one as his political heir. But which one?.
Uday, 36, who has a reputation as a womanizer with a violent temper, seemed a strong candidate before he was badly injured in 1996 by attackers who raked him and his red Porsche with automatic gunfire on a Baghdad street.
Qusai, 34, who is so low-key that most Iraqis wouldn't recognize him, now holds far more important posts. He runs the Republican Guards, the country's best-trained and equipped troops, and handles the elite Special Security Organization that protects his father.
Saddam wants to keep power in the family, rather than allow it to pass to his Baath Party. Qusai, with his leading role in the security forces, has the upper hand, though Saddam hasn't explicitly revealed his choice." (msnbc.com).
By all accounts, the sons inherited ambition and ruthlessness from their father, though Uday and Qusai's public personalities are total opposites.
Saddam had two son-in-laws, Hussein Kamel Majid and his brother Saddam Kamel.
