Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator, flees after a seven year reign

Idi Amin Dada Oumee fled Uganda on 29 March 1979* first to Libya and eventually to Saudi Arabia. Amin began his career as a cook in the King's African Rifles and British Colonial Army in Uganda in 1956.  He distinguished himself as a soldier during campaigns in Burma, Kenya, and Somalia.  He was also one of two 'Black' Ugandan soldiers to be promoted to the rank of officer in 1961 just before Uganda attained independence. In 1965, Milton Obote, then Prime Minister of Uganda, promoted Amin to the rank of commander of the Armed Forces. Amin seized power on the 25 January 1971 while Obote was in Singapore. On the 2 February 1971, Amin declared himself president of Uganda. Amin's rule was initially welcomed, but the brutality and corruption that he engaged in, and the ruthless elimination of anyone that opposed him, eventually turned the Ugandan population against him.  The final straw was when Amin ordered the Ugandan Army to invade Tanzania. Despite being supported by Libyan troops, the Ugandans were sorely trounced.  Amin was forced to flee the country when Tanzanian troops took the capital city Kampala.  Note: *it must be noted that this date is under dispute as some sources consider the 11 April 1979 as the date Amin fled Uganda.