Ali Hassan al-Majid

Ali Hassan al-Majid
علي حسن المجيد التكريتي
Al-Majid at an investigative hearing in 2004
Director of the Directorate of General Security
In office
1984–1987
Preceded byFadhel Barak Hussein Al-Nasiri
Succeeded byAbdul Rahman al-Duri
Minister of Defense
In office
1991–1995
Preceded bySaadi Toma Abbas
Succeeded bySultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai
Minister of Interior
In office
March 1991  April 1991
Secretary of the Northern Bureau of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office
March 1987  April 1989
Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office
June 1982  January 2010
Governor of Kuwait Governorate
In office
1990–1991
Personal details
Born
علي حسن المجيد التكريتي
ʿʿAlī Ḥasan al-Majid al-Tikrītī

c.1941 (1941)
Tikrit, Kingdom of Iraq
Died25 January 2010(2010-01-25) (aged 68–69)
Camp Justice, Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Republic of Iraq
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Political partyIraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
Relations
ParentHassan al-Majid
Nickname"Chemical Ali"
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service Iraqi Ground Forces
Years of service1959–2003
Rank
Colonel General
CommandsNational Defense Battalions
Battles/wars

Colonel General Ali Hassan al-Majid al-Tikriti (Arabic: علي حسن المجيد التكريتي, romanized: ʿAlī Ḥasan al-Majid al-Tikrītī; c.1941 – 25 January 2010), was an Iraqi military officer and politician under Saddam Hussein who served as Defense minister, Interior minister, and chief of the General Security. He was also the governor of Kuwait during much of the Gulf War.

A first cousin of former Ba'athist Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, al-Majid became notorious in the 1980s and 1990s for his alleged role in the Iraqi government's campaigns against internal opposition forces, namely the Kurdish rebels of the north, and the Shia rebels of the south. Repressive measures included deportations and mass killings; al-Majid was dubbed "Chemical Ali" (علي الكيماوي, Ali Al-Kīmyāwī) by Iraqis for his use of chemical weapons in attacks against the Kurds.

Al-Majid was captured following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and was charged by the Iraqi government with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He was convicted in June 2007 and sentenced to death for crimes of genocide against the Kurds committed in the al-Anfal campaign of the 1980s. His appeal of the death sentence was rejected on 4 September 2007, and he was sentenced to death for the fourth time on 17 January 2010 and was hanged eight days later, on 25 January 2010.