ʿAlī Ḥasan al-Majīd

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Read Next

Bonnie Parker mockingly points shotgun at Clyde Barrow. American bank robbers and lovers Clyde Barrow (1909 - 1934) and Bonnie Parker (1911 -1934), popularly known as Bonnie and Clyde, circa 1933. criminal, thief, robbery team

7 Notorious Women Criminals

What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?

USAF aircraft of the 4th Fighter Wing (F-16, F-15C and F-15E) fly over Kuwaiti oil fires, set by the retreating Iraqi army as part of a scorched earth policy during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, Desert Shield.

25th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm

Aerial view of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Mobile, Ala., May 6, 2010. Photo by U.S. Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft. BP spill

9 Modern Corporate Criminals

Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Discover

Coriander leaves, fresh green cilantro on wooden background, herbs

Why Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap to Some People?

Four year old boy with grandfather and father lighting Hanukkah menorah. Photo taken on: December 21st, 2009

Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah?

Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and autodidact.

6 Interesting Facts about Srinivasa Ramanujan

Indian hijras participate in a religious procession in Gandhinagar, India, some 30 kilometers from Ahmedabad, on March 22, 2017. Hijra is a term used in South Asia which refers to transgender individuals who are born male. (gender identity, gender expression)

6 Cultures That Recognize More than Two Genders

Entrants falling and tumbling over while chasing the cheese at the 2016 'Cheese Rolling' held at Cooper's Hill, in the Cotswolds, Brockworth England

7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Festivals

Nativity Scene, Adoration of the Magi, Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Montenegro

Why Is Christmas in December?

Monitor. Varanus salvadorii is a monitor lizard found in New Guinea can grows to 2.7 metres (9 ft.) aka Tree crocodile, Crocodile monitor, Salvadori's monitor, artellia, reptile

7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Lizards and Turtles

ʿAlī Ḥasan al-Majīd

Iraqi official

Also known as: Chemical Ali

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

Byname:: Chemical Ali

Born:: c. 1941, Tikrīt, Iraq

Died:: Jan. 25, 2010, Baghdad

See all related content

ʿAlī Ḥasan al-Majīd (born c. 1941, Tikrīt, Iraq—died Jan. 25, 2010, Baghdad) was an Iraqi Baʿth Party official and a cousin of Iraqi Pres. Ṣaddām Ḥussein. During his career he became known for brutal attacks on Iraqi citizens, especially Kurds and Shīʿites. In 1958 al-Majīd joined the Baʿth Party. With Ṣaddām’s rise to power in the government of Pres. Aḥmad Ḥasan al-Bakr—after the Baʿth Party, which had been unseated in 1963, returned to power in Iraq in 1968—al-Majīd rose as well. He held a number of governmental posts and participated in the purges that accompanied Ṣaddām’s seizure of power in ...(100 of 253 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.