Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has governed Iraq with an iron fist, relying on
his two sons and a small inner circle of trusted aides.

We introduce Saddam's inner circle here.

UDAY SADDAM HUSSEIN • 39 years old, elder son of President Saddam Hussein • plays more prominent public role • a member of parliament • set up and heads Saddam's Fedayeen, a paramilitary force • chairs Iraq's Olympic committee and football federation • owns a trading and media empire • in younger days, earned reputation as playboy, drove fast cars, chased girls and reportedly walked lions on a lead • seriously wounded in an assassination bid, December 1996 (still walks with a limp)

EZZAT IBRAHIM • 61 years old, regime's number two • Vice President of all-powerful Revolution Command Council (RCC), the committee of senior Baath Party officials that enacts laws and decrees and overrides all other state institutions. • travels abroad frequently as Saddam's envoy, sent to woo neighbouring states in recent US-Iraq tension • regularly represents Iraq at Arab and Islamic summits (at the most recent one in Qatar early March, he branded Kuwait's junior foreign minister a "monkey") • escaped a grenade attack in the majority Shiite Muslim town of Kerbala in southern Iraq, 1998 • avoided arrest in Vienna for suspected crimes against humanity, while receiving medical treatment in 1999

TAHA YASSIN RAMADAN • Vice President since 1991 • minces no words • involved in all important decisions taken by the regime • one of the strongest critics of UN disarmament inspectors • held numerous senior posts since 1968 • entrusted with economic and interior policy in recent years

TAREQ AZIZ • 67 years old, Christian, speaks English fluently • apart from Saddam, probably the most recognisable Iraqi official outside Iraq; often finds himself defending Iraq's stance before international media • previously worked as a journalist • deputy Prime Minister since 1991 • was Iraq's Foreign Minister for several years, including during the Gulf War when he was the Baghdad government's spokesman • famously refused a letter from then US president George Bush Snr to Saddam Hussein at a meeting in Geneva with US Secretary of State James Baker shortly before the Gulf War started • made a high-profile visit to Pope John Paul II, February 2003