Samira Shahbandar
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Samira Shahbandar (Template:Langx, born 1946) is an Iraqi former physician and the second wife of Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003.
Early life
Shahbandar was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1946 into an aristocratic Baghdad family.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="breakfornews2003">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="scotsman2003">Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Shahbandar was reported to have had careers as a flight attendant and as a physician.<ref name="albawaba2003">Template:Cite web</ref> She was a teacher.
Personal life
Shahbandar was married to Noureddine Al Safi, a pilot and manager of Iraqi Airways.<ref name="scotsman2003" /><ref name="pravdareport2013">Template:Cite web</ref> They have two children.<ref name="scotsman2003" /> Shahbandar's son Mohammad Saffi was born in 1966.<ref name="bbc2002">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="billingsgazette2002">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1979, Shahbandar met Saddam Hussein, whom she reportedly had a son named Ali with.<ref> https://www.theage.com.au/national/saddam-phones-second-wife-once-a-week-report-20031214-gdwxp1.html </ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Saddam's eldest son Uday was reported to have envied him.<ref name="washingtonpost1991">Template:Cite news</ref> Saddam Hussein forced her husband to divorce her.<ref name="pravdareport2013" /> In 1986, Shahbandar was married to Saddam Hussein in secret.<ref name="pravdareport2013" /><ref name="albawaba2003" /> In the late 1980s, Shahbandar appeared in public with Saddam Hussein.<ref name="pravdareport2013" />
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sajida was extremely jealous and angry when she found out about his mistress, and her brother Adnan Khairallah complained.<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="bbc2002" />
As of 2004, Shahbandar was acknowledged as the wife of Saddam Hussein by the United Nations.<ref name="un2014">Template:Cite web</ref>
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: Template:Blockquote