Idi Amin

Idi Amin Dada Oumee (c. 1925–2003) was a Ugandan military officer who ruled Uganda from January 1971 until April 1979, after seizing power in a coup against President Milton Obote while Obote was attending a Commonwealth summit in Singapore. A former soldier in the British colonial King's African Rifles, Amin rose through the ranks of the Ugandan army after independence in 1962 and became army commander before turning against Obote.

His rule is remembered for mass atrocities, economic collapse, and erratic foreign policy. Estimates of Ugandans killed under his regime commonly range from 100,000 to 300,000, including the murder of Chief Justice Benedicto Kiwanuka, Anglican Archbishop Janani Luwum, and members of the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups associated with Obote. In 1972 Amin expelled roughly 50,000–80,000 Asians (mostly of Indian and Pakistani origin) holding British passports, redistributing their businesses to supporters and devastating the economy.

Internationally, Amin styled himself with titles including "Conqueror of the British Empire" and declared himself President for Life in 1976. The same year, Israeli commandos carried out Operation Entebbe (4 July 1976), rescuing hostages from an Air France flight hijacked by pro-Palestinian militants and held at Entebbe Airport with Amin's cooperation. He chaired the Organisation of African Unity in 1975–1976 despite growing condemnation.

Amin's invasion of Tanzania's Kagera salient in October 1978 prompted a counter-offensive by the Tanzania People's Defence Force and Ugandan exiles, leading to the fall of Kampala on 11 April 1979 and Amin's flight into exile, first to Libya and ultimately to Saudi Arabia, where he died in Jeddah on 16 August 2003. He was never tried for his crimes. His regime is frequently cited in scholarship on personalist dictatorship, military coups in post-colonial Africa, and the limits of regional non-intervention norms.