Leader Profiles

Tariq Aziz Foreign minister of Iraq during the Gulf conflict

• Born 1936 · A close associate of Saddam Hussein since the 1960s
• Fluent in English
• Iraqi Cultural and Information Minister, 1974-1978
• Deputy Prime Minister, 1981-1983
• Foreign Minister,1983-1991
• Served as Iraq's chief spokesperson during the Gulf conflict

For more information, go to: Interview with Tariq Aziz

James Baker U.S. Secretary of State during Gulf conflict

• Born Houston, Texas, 1930
• Served two years in the Marine Corps
• Graduated from Princeton University, 1952
• White House chief of staff under Ronald Reagan, 1981-1985
• Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan, 1985-1988
• Secretary of State under George Bush, 1989-1992

For more information, go to: James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy

George Bush President of the United States during the Gulf conflict

• Born Milton, Massachusetts, 1924
• Flew fifty-eight combat missions during World War II, was shot down over the Pacific Ocean, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross
• Graduated from Yale University, 1948 · Congressman from Texas, 1966-1970
• U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 1971-1973
• Ambassador to China, 1974-1975 · Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1976-1977
• Vice president under Ronald Reagan, 1980-88
• Forty-first president of the United States, 1989-1992

For more information, go to: Bush Presidential Library

Saddam Hussein President of Iraq during the Gulf conflict

• Born in Al Awaja near Tikrit, Iraq, 1937
• Joined the Socialist Baath Party, 1956
• Participated in assassination attempt Prime Minister Abdul-Karim Qassim, 1959, was shot in the leg, and went into exile in Egypt
• Studied at Cairo University, 1962
• Was key figure in coup that brought Ahmed Hassan Bakr to power, 1968
• Becomes Deputy Security-General of Baathist Party, 1968
• Influence grows and by 1974 is effective power-broker in Iraqi politics
• Installed as leader of Iraq, 1979

For more information, go to: Saddam Biographer interview