Leaders of Iraq and their violent ends

FACTBOX-
31 Dec 2006 21:02:18 GMT

More Jan 1 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein, who was hanged on Saturday and buried on Sunday, is the latest Iraqi leader to die violently in the state's bloody history.

Here are the other main leaders of Iraq since it was created as a state by imperial Britain after World War One:

KING GHAZI - Took the throne in 1933 on the death of his father KING FAISAL I, the first British-installed monarch. He died in a suspicious car crash six years later.

BAKR SIDQI - Bakr Sidqi, who led a 1936 military coup under the monarchy, was assassinated by fellow soldiers in 1937.

KING FAISAL II - Killed in his palace during the July 14 revolution of 1958, along with Crown Prince Abdulillah and Prime Minister Nuri al-Said, the power behind the throne.

ABDUL-KARIM KASSEM - Took power on the 1958 declaration of a republic. He survived an assassination attempt a year later by Saddam Hussein but died in a military coup in 1963.

ABD SALAM MOHAMMED ARIF - Made president after the 1963 coup and jailed his erstwhile Baathist allies, including Saddam, within months of seizing power. He died in an air crash in 1966.

ABD AR-RAHMAN MOHAMMED ARIF - Succeeded his brother but was deposed by the Baath party coup of July 20, 1968 and exiled.

AHMED HASSAN AL-BAKR - Installed as president by the 1968 coup, he was eclipsed by his kinsman Saddam during the 1970s and formally forced aside by him in 1979. Bakr died three years later. Many believe he was poisoned on Saddam's orders.

SADDAM HUSSEIN - Took control of the Baath party behind the scenes before ousting Bakr and becoming president in 1979. Survived an assassination attempt in 1982 at Dujail. Overthrown by U.S. invasion of 2003 and hanged on Dec. 30, 2006 for crimes against humanity over his reprisals against people of Dujail.