Samira Shahbandar Explained

Samira Shahbandar
Birth Place:Baghdad, Iraq
Nationality:Iraqi
Occupation:Physician

Samira Shahbandar (Arabic: سميرة الشهابندر, born 1946) is a former Iraqi physician. She was the second wife of Saddam Hussein.

Early life

Shahbandar was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1946 into an aristocratic Baghdad family.[1] [2] [3]

Career

Shahbandar was reported to have had careers as a flight attendant and as a physician.[4] She was a teacher

Personal life

Shahbandar was married to Noureddine Al Safi from Al Safi Family, an Iraqi pilot and manager of Iraqi Airways.[5] They have two children. Shahbandar's son Mohammad Saffi was born in 1966.[6] [7]

In 1979, Shahbandar met Saddam Hussein, whom she reportedly had a son named Ali with.[8] [9] Saddam's eldest son Uday was reported to have envied him.[10] Saddam Hussein forced her husband to divorce her. In 1986, Shahbandar was married to Saddam Hussein in secret. In the late 1980s, Shahbandar appeared in public with Saddam Hussein.

Kamel Hana Gegeo, Hussein's valet, food taster and friend, introduced Samira to him. Hussein's secret marriage took place while he was married to Sajida Talfah, his first wife and cousin.[11] Sajida was extremely jealous and angry when she found out about his mistress, and her brother Adnan Khairallah complained.[12] Uday Hussein, Saddam Hussein's son with Sajida, was also angry over his father's mistress, took it as an insult to his mother, and believed that his status as heir apparent was threatened. In October 1988, during a party, Uday Hussein murdered Kamel Hana Gegeo in front of horrified guests. While Saddam Hussein declared that Uday would be tried for murder, Gegeo's parents and Sajida begged that Uday be pardoned.[13]

In 2002, Shahbandar's son from her first marriage, Mohammad Saffi, a resident of New Zealand and a flight engineer with Air New Zealand, was detained in Miami, Florida, US due to lack of a student visa where he planned to undergo flight training.

As of 2004, Shahbandar was acknowledged as the wife of Saddam Hussein by United Nations.[14]

Depictions

Her character was featured heavily in the plot of BBC adaptation of House of Saddam and was played by Australian actress Christine Stephen-Daly. In the drama, Shahbandar is portrayed as a schoolteacher, the occupation of Sajida Talfah.

Possible issue

In a 2007 Al Riyadh interview, Ali Al-Nida Husein Al-Omar, chief of the Bejat subtribe of Al-Bu Nasir, was asked about Saddam's son from Samira Shahbandar. The chief replied:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: United Nations ...IQi.060 . 31 October 2018 . United Nations.
  2. Web site: Saddam's wife in gold ... and exile . breakfornews.com . Marie . Colvin . 15 December 2003 . 31 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130630121615/http://breakfornews.com/articles/Saddams%20wife%20in%20gold.htm . 30 June 2013 . live.
  3. Web site: Wife No2 – and only surviving son – are alive and wealthy in Lebanon . The Scotsman . 15 December 2003 . 31 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171113170644/http://www.scotsman.com/news/world/wife-no2-and-only-surviving-son-are-alive-and-wealthy-in-lebanon-1-497975 . 13 November 2017 . live.
  4. Web site: Report: Saddam "second wife" lives in Beirut . albawaba.com . 28 July 2003 . 31 October 2018.
  5. Web site: Will Saddam Hussein's children have to answer for their father? . pravdareport.com . Dmitry . Sudakov . 16 July 2013 . 31 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170619153332/http://www.pravdareport.com/world/asia/16-07-2013/125146-saddam_hussein_children-0/ . 19 June 2017 . live.
  6. Web site: Saddam's Stepson detained in Miami . BBC . 4 July 2002 . 31 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090114123815/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2092233.stm . 14 January 2009 . live.
  7. Web site: Stepson's arrest sheds light on Saddam's love life . billingsgazette.com . 5 July 2002 . 31 October 2018.
  8. https://www.theage.com.au/national/saddam-phones-second-wife-once-a-week-report-20031214-gdwxp1.html
  9. Web site: Wife No2 - and only surviving son - are alive and wealthy in Lebanon . 15 December 2003 .
  10. News: Bride of Saddam, Matched Since Childhood . The Washington Post . Martha . Sherrill . 25 January 1991 . 31 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081013020628/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/iraq/stories/bride012591.htm . 13 October 2008 . live.
  11. Web site: Saddam's Minister of Mass Destruction? . ABC News . 9 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090910230249/http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/020926-iraq1.htm . 10 September 2009 . live.
  12. Khairallah was killed in a helicopter crash, caused by "mechanical failure." Hussein's bodyguard said that he was told to place a bomb on the helicopter.
  13. News: Bride of Saddam, Matched Since Childhood . The Washington Post . 10 April 1998 . 23 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171011162204/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/iraq/stories/bride012591.htm . 11 October 2017 . live .
  14. Web site: United Nations Security Council ... IQi060. Samira Shahbandar . United Nations . 29 October 2014 . 31 October 2018.

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