Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's vice president died of cancer in an Amman hospital at the age of 80, relatives said Sunday. Taha Mohieddin Marouf, an ethnic Kurd, died Friday and his body was moved to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil for burial the next day, his relatives added.
Marouf served as one of Iraq's vice presidents from 1975 until the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq which toppled Saddam. He was also a member of the powerful Revolutionary Command Council.
Initially named number 42 on the US list of "55 most wanted' Iraqis after the overthrow, Marouf rose to number 24. US forces arrested him in May 2003, but later released him after it was deemed he was largely a symbolic figure as a token Kurd appointed to appease his people.
Once a Kurdish nationalist, he joined the Baath Party, earning him the widespread scorn of his fellow Kurds. After his release by the Americans, he settled in Iraq's northern Kurdish region. Joining Saddam's ruling Baath Party hierarchy in 1968, and also served as ambassador to Italy, Malta and Albania.
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