Saddam Hussein

About Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) was the fifth President of Iraq, serving from 1979 until 2003. As a dominant figure in Middle Eastern politics for decades, his tenure was marked by significant conflict, including the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War, leading to his eventual overthrow by a U.S.-led coalition. MIT's Pantheon project ranks him #336 in global historical importance, reflecting a lengthy and impactful, albeit highly controversial, political career that fundamentally shaped modern Mesopotamian history.

In terms of modern internet attention, Hussein commands considerable interest, accumulating 4.2 million Wikipedia views in 2025. This places him in a distinct category of notoriety, showing an 'overattention' relative to his historical ranking: his attention score is estimated to be over 10 times greater than what his historical importance would predict. For context, figures ranked significantly higher in historical influence, such as Cicero (#190), draw only about a quarter of his annual traffic, receiving just 1.0 million views in 2025.

Despite the long arc of his political life concluding in 2006, attention remains robust, with Wikipedia views showing a +5.4% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, the first quarter of 2025 showed a 4% increase in viewing momentum compared to the third quarter, suggesting sustained, rather than purely event-driven, continued online interest.