Born in 1964, the eldest of five children from Saddam Hussein's marriage to his cousin Sajida Khayrallah, Uday Hussein was most notoriously known for his exploits, brutally raping and abusing Iraqi women and girls. He was also a known killer and reportedly had a violent, unpredictable nature. Uday was passed over by his father, who named his younger son Qusay as successor.
Long known for his ruthless nature, Uday was said to be responsible for the 1996 killing of his two brothers-in-law, Husayn Kamil and his brother Saddam, who were married to Uday's sisters Raghad and Rana. The Kamil brothers had defected to Jordan in 1995, only to return the following year after Saddam promised them amnesty. Uday reportedly participated in the killing of the brothers soon after, killing many members of the Kamil family in the same incident. Media reports indicated that Uday was responsible for Kamil's defection in the first place, after threatening to have him arrested. Uday is also reported to have killed his father's assistant and food taster in 1988, Kamil Hanna Jajo, whom he despised for introducing Saddam to his second wife, Samira, who is reported to be the mother of Saddam's third son, Ali.
Uday survived an assassination attempt in 1996, when unknown assailants opened fire on him in Baghdad. The intelligence services never caught the assailants, who shot Uday at least eight times. He reportedly suffered a stroke and sustained injuries in the incident. In a 1997 interview with CNN, Uday denied Iraqi opposition charges that the attack was the result of feuds within the ruling elite, instead implying that the assailants were Iranian. In any case, Uday had plenty of enemies, both within his family and in the broader public at large.
Uday held little power within the Hussein regime, but he founded the paramilitary force Saddam Fedayeen in 1995. According to www.globalsecurity.org, the Saddam Fedayeen "included a special unit known as the death squadron, whose masked members performed certain executions, including in victims' homes. The Fedayeen operated completely outside the law, above and outside political and legal structures."
International press widely reported that Uday was often at odds with his brother Qusay, who was favored to succeed him.
Uday ran several newspapers, as well as a radio and television station, and oversaw the Iraqi Olympic Committee. A number of athletes reported that they and their teammates were beaten and tortured at the order of Uday for poor performances. Uday is said to have married at least three times, but reportedly never fathered any children.