Idi Amin Dada (mid-1920s Many sources hold that Amin was born in Koboko or Kampala, circa 1925, and that the exact date of his birth is unknown (blank">Encyclopædia Britannica Encarta, Columbia Encyclopedia). According to researcher Fred Guweddeko, Amin was born on 17 May 1928,http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/special_adi-amin-profile/Rejected_then_taken_in_by_dad_a_timeline_2.shtml but that is also disputed.http://www.mail-archive.com/ugandanet@kym.net/msg06472.html. Upon his death, medical officials said Amin had died at the age of 80, which would make his year of birth 1923. The only certainty is that Amin was born in the mid-1920s - 16 August 2003), commonly known simply as Idi Amin, was a Ugandan politician who served as the President of Uganda. Amin joined the _British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946, and advanced to the rank of Major General and Commander of the Ugandan Army. He took power in a military coup in January 1971, deposing Milton Obote. His rule was characterized by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extra-judicial killings and the expulsion of Indians from Uganda. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is unknown; estimates range from 80,000 to 500,000. "blank">Obituary: Idi Amin", _The Guardian, 2003-08-18.

Idi Amin granted himself a number of titles, and for a period from 1977 to 1979 he was titled "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor He conferred a doctorate of law on himself from Makerere University. blank">http://www.ugandamission.net/aboutug/articles/amin.html]. Idi Amin Dada, VC, _DSO, MC, Conqueror of the British Empire [CBE]" He became head of the Organisation of African Unity in 1975 and during the 1977-1979 period, Uganda was appointed to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Dissent within Uganda, and Amin's attempt to annex the Kagera province of Tanzania in 1978, led to the Uganda-Tanzania War and the fall of his regime in 1979. Amin fled to Libya, before relocating to Saudi Arabia in 1981, where he died in 2003. Amin and his regime have been the subject of films and documentaries including General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (1974), Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1980) and The Last King of Scotland (2006).