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Idi Amin facts for kids

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Idi Amin
Idi Amin -Archives New Zealand AAWV 23583, KIRK1, 5(B), R23930288.jpg
3rd President of Uganda
In office
25 January 1971 – 11 April 1979
Vice President Mustafa Adrisi
Preceded by Milton Obote
Succeeded by Yusufu Lule
Personal details
Born
Idi Amin Dada

(1925-08-17)August 17, 1925
Koboko, Uganda
Died August 16, 2003(2003-08-16) (aged 77)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Nationality Ugandan
Spouse(s) Malyamu Amin (divorced)
Kay Amin (divorced)
Nora Amin (divorced)
Madina Amin (widow)
Sarah Amin (widow)
Profession Soldier
Boxer
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Uganda Uganda
Branch/service British Army
Ugandan Army
Years of service 1946–1962 (UK)
1962–1979 (Uganda)
Rank Lieutenant (UK)
Field Marshal (Uganda, self-styled)
Unit King's African Rifles
Commands Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
Battles/wars Mau Mau Uprising
1971 Ugandan coup d'état
Uganda-Tanzania War

Idi Amin Dada (17 August 1925 – 16 August 2003) was a repressive dictator of the African country of Uganda. The President of Tanzania at the time, Julius Nyerere, invaded Uganda to save the country from Amin.

Amin was famous for sending all Asians, mainly from India and Pakistan, out of Uganda. He threw them out because he believed they were taking the jobs of Ugandans. Many of the Asians that left Uganda came back after Amin was thrown out.

He was a convert to Islam. He supported the cause of Palestine freedom. This caused the hijacking of an Air France flight that landed in Entebbe, Uganda.

Amin became known as a very brutal leader and in the 1970s he was compared to historical persons such as Caligula, Hitler, Beria and Himmler. In several of the neighboring countries he was stamped as "murderer, fascist and oppressor."

In 2003, Amin died in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia from kidney failure at age 77. He lived in Saudi Arabia after being thrown out of Uganda, he was barred from ever returning since he left. He died one day before his 78th birthday.

He was put on life support on July 18, but when his organs began to fail, life support mechanism was disconnected by his family. He was buried without any memorial in a simple grave without headstone.

The Last King of Scotland (2006) is a movie about Amin's government. Forest Whitaker won an Academy Award for best actor.

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