Timeline Monday 16 July 1979

Events on Monday 16 July 1979 1

• 1979 Saddam Hussein becomes President of Iraq Consolidation of power through purge Saddam Hussein forced the resignation of President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and assumed the presidency of Iraq on 16 July 1979. Days later he ordered the execution of dozens of senior Ba'ath Party members accused of disloyalty, cementing his personal control. He would rule Iraq for the next 24 years.