The Georgian Advisor to Saddam Hussein

In the 1960s, now 83 year old Georgian pilot Darwin Rukhadze was given the opportunity to work with the Iraqi air force during the conflicts between Israel and the Arab countries.  With this tie to Iraq, Rukhadze later became the personal advisor to the notorious president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.  So one day in 1967, Rukhadze packed up and moved to Iraq with his family to begin training with Iraqi pilots.  

When Rukhadze first met Saddam Hussein, he was in training.  However, at this point the meeting was perhaps brief.  The men became acquainted but work together on a more personal level had not fully begun yet.  Following his training, he moved to Budapest and became the head of the Aviation Security in the South Caucasus.  

Cut to the 1980s in the heat of the Iran-Iraq war.  Hussein had led a coup into Iran and called upon Rukhadze to trek to Iraq for advice.  He went alone to Iraq due to the turmoil and there was officially appointed as the advisor to the captain of the Aviation Security in Iraq—Saddam Hussein.  

Rukhadze advised the president on many serious issues.  One such situation was regarding a possible bombing in Tehran, Iran.  Corresponding with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, Rukhadze was assured that such a mission would be possible and proceeded to bring such information to Hussein.  Rukhadze acted in this manner throughout his work with the president.  Speaking with officials, delving into the issues, and advising Hussein in the most honest and thorough manner he could, Rukhadze was a close and vital colleague to Hussein.

By Shirin Mahdavi