Samira Shahbandar

Samira Shahbandar
Born1946 (age 77–78)
Baghdad, Iraq
NationalityIraqi
OccupationPhysician
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1986; died 2006)​

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]

Personal life

Shahbandar was married to Noureddine Safi, an Iraqi pilot and manager of Iraqi Airways.[3][5] They have two children.[3] Shahbandar's son Mohammad Saffi was born in 1966.[6][7]

In 1983, Shahbandar met Saddam Hussein, whom she reportedly had a son with.[8] Saddam's eldest son Uday was reported to have envied him.[9] Saddam Hussein forced her husband to divorce her.[5] In 1986, Shahbandar was married to Saddam Hussein in secret.[5][4] In the late 1980s, Shahbandar appeared in public with Saddam Hussein.[5]

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.[10] Sajida was extremely jealous and angry when she found out about his mistress, and her brother Adnan Khairallah complained.[11] 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.[12]

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.[6]

As of 2004, Shahbandar was acknowledged as the wife of Saddam Hussein by United Nations.[13]

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:

"Saddam had only two wives, the first was Umm [Mother of] Uday and Qusay, Sajida Khairallah Talfah and the other he married after a while, [was] Samira al-Shahbandar, he married her when she was 40 years old and she had no children from him."[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "United Nations ...IQi.060". United Nations. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  2. ^ Colvin, Marie (15 December 2003). "Saddam's wife in gold ... and exile". breakfornews.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Wife No2 – and only surviving son – are alive and wealthy in Lebanon". The Scotsman. 15 December 2003. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Report: Saddam "second wife" lives in Beirut". albawaba.com. 28 July 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Sudakov, Dmitry (16 July 2013). "Will Saddam Hussein's children have to answer for their father?". pravdareport.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Saddam's Stepson detained in Miami". BBC. 4 July 2002. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Stepson's arrest sheds light on Saddam's love life". billingsgazette.com. 5 July 2002. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Wife No2 - and only surviving son - are alive and wealthy in Lebanon". 15 December 2003.
  9. ^ Sherrill, Martha (25 January 1991). "Bride of Saddam, Matched Since Childhood". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Saddam's Minister of Mass Destruction?". ABC News. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Bride of Saddam, Matched Since Childhood". The Washington Post. 10 April 1998. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  13. ^ "United Nations Security Council ... IQi060. Samira Shahbandar". United Nations. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  14. ^ "صدام راهن على حرب الشوارع.. والخيانة كانت أكبر من التضحيات". alriyadh (in Arabic). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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