Uganda Army (1962–1971) in the context of Mutesa II of Buganda

Idi Amin Dada Oumee (30 May 1928 – 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until his overthrow in 1979. An admirer of Adolf Hitler, he ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern world history. He is often called "Hitler of Africa" and his ideology draws similarity to National Socialism.

Amin was born to a Kakwa father and Lugbara mother. In 1946, he joined the King's African Rifles (KAR) of the British Colonial Army as a cook. He rose to the rank of lieutenant, taking part in British actions against Somali rebels and then the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, and Amin remained in the army, rising to the position of deputy army commander in 1964 and being appointed commander two years later. He became aware that Ugandan president Milton Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, so he launched the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état and declared himself president.

The 1971 Ugandan coup d'état was a military coup d'état that overthrew the then president of Uganda Milton Obote. The coup occurred on January 25, 1971, while Obote was attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Singapore, and was staged by Idi Amin, the commander of the Uganda Army at the time. For various reasons, relations between Obote and Amin—his army commander—had become insidiously strained. Amin's plot (allegedly under Israeli auspices) was primarily driven by a concern to retain power over the military, hence guaranteeing his own personal survival. After the coup's success, Amin installed himself as president; ruling—until 1979—by decree over an impoverished nation. He is often referred to as one of the most brutal dictators in modern political history.