Idi Amin

Idi Amin Dada (c. 1925 – 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer who served as the President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles, in 1946, and advanced through the ranks during Uganda's transition to independence in 1962. He took power in a military coup in January 1971, deposed President Milton Obote, and ruled Uganda under a state of martial law until 1979. Amin's rule was characterized by widespread 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 organizations to range from 100,000 to 500,000. In Hebrew, Idi Amin is known as אידי אמין, in Arabic as إيدي أمين (Idi Amīn), and in Swahili as Idi Amin. Amin's rule was marked by his self-declared titles such as "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular." He is considered one of the most brutal despots in world history.