biography
pronunciation:
[ameen]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (c.1925– )
|
| biography:
| Ugandan soldier and dictator (1971–9), born in Koboko, NW Uganda of a peasant family. After a rudimentary education he joined the army, rising from the ranks to become a colonel in 1964. As a friend of prime minister Milton Obote, he was made commander-in-chief of the army and air force, but worsening relations between them resulted in a coup establishing a military dictatorship (1971). He proceeded to expel all Ugandan Asians and many Israelis, seized foreign-owned businesses and estates, and ordered the killing of thousands of his opponents, making his regime internationally infamous. His decision in 1978 to annex the Kagera area of Tanzania gave President Nyerere the opportunity to send his troops into Uganda. Within six months Amin was defeated. He fled to Libya, and later attempted to make his home in several countries, eventually settling in exile in Saudi Arabia. |
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